Benny's Had Enough!

In this picture book from a Swedish team, Landstr m's (Olson's Meat Pies) remarkably wry illustrations inject charm into a familiar tale. ""Benny thinks everything's the pits,"" but after he runs away from home with his favorite toy, he discovers that ""life is so hard!"" and returns to his mother's waiting arms. The story humorously emulates a toddler's lack of focus. For instance, after Benny meets a dog on the road, who calls his wife on his cell phone to ask if Benny can live with them, the wife says, ""Absolutely not""; the plot then abruptly changes direction--""All of a sudden, Benny just has to dig a hole somewhere."" Benny's journey takes him past ""a lot of pigs who are sitting in their cabins and staring at their computer screens,"" and he braves the wrath of a man who threatens to ""straighten his curly tail"" if Benny doesn't stop digging holes in his yard. Landstr m's deft illustrations, with their expressive black lines and subtle details (e.g., the crotchety man is seen through a window sipping tea before he bursts out of his home to shoo Benny away), give these characters their singularity; his Every Pig is a real corker. Ages 2-5. (Oct.)