Benny Breakiron #1: The Red Taxis
Benny Breakiron, strong enough to pull apart speeding cars, which he is also fast enough to catch, was introduced to European readers  in 1962. Luckily, his big personality and ah-shucks heroism haven’t gone stale, and his cartoony body and ensemble company have crossed the decades with slapstick humor intact. In this first episode to arrive in the U.S., Benny’s cabbie friend, old man Dussiflard, is victimized by a gang of state-of-the-art taxicabs and drivers who are part of a gangster’s plan to rob the town. Eight-year-old Benny may be strong and brilliant, but he’s still just a kid, and the police are not willing to listen to his discovery, so Benny has to use his physical and intellectual gifts to rescue his friend and the town himself. Peyo, who gave the world The Smurfs, created a different sort of character and world with Benny, but it is just as colorful and just as full of delightful physicality and dialogue. Adults may find themselves sneaking into their kids’ bookshelves to get at this one. Grades 4-7. --Francisca Goldsmith