Aslan and Benny

Aslan and Benny

by Jemima Shafei-Ongu

illustrated by Jade Goodwin

Published by Penguin Random House
ISBN 9781761047060

In this story readers meet fearless Aslan, who can do just about anything. Written for 4-8 year olds readers we see all the things he loves to do. He is almost invincible and after all he name means he is a lion.

He loves Sundays when he goes to see his cousins and his yenge's house, until one day when he arrives with his parents he hears a big barking noise from the family's new dog on the other side of the front door.

Fear grips young Aslan, he is terrified and refuses to go inside. Various members of the family including his mum encourage him to go inside, but he refuses. Aslan is just too frightened.

Until it starts raining and they decide that neither the dog Benny, who from the illustrations looks like a lovely friendly dog, nor Aslan can stay outside and get wet. They find a space where Benny can't go and is quite safe for the fearful child.

Once his mum sits with him to explain and remind him of other things that once terrified Aslan that he overcame, the situation changes.

Using characters from a Turkish family this is a good picture book to discuss fear and overcoming fear with younger children. As they turn the pages they discover, what was scary isn't so bad after all.

The author

emima Shafei-Ongu is a Sydney-based writer committed to promoting inclusion and representation in children’s literature. Combining a professional background in psychology and teaching, Jemima explores themes of belonging, connection and wellbeing. Jemima is the author of two picture books, Aslan and Benny and A Lemon for Safiya, and she resides on unceded Dharug land with her husband, their mini schnauzer and their three daughters.

The illustrator

Jade Goodwin is an Australian First Nations illustrator with a big imagination. When she was a little girl, she loved spending time in her grandparents’ screen-printing studio, creating all sorts of fun things with the studio supplies. Since her first book was published in 2022, Jade has illustrated a bunch more,
and now loves working from home, drawing almost every day alongside her three furry assistants, her cats. Her sweet and bright illustrations bring imagination to life, and she hopes to inspire both children and adults alike.