Ben Rides On
Gr 1-3-"Now that he had the bicycle of his dreams, Ben Lukin loved going to school." And what adventures he has en route: tunneling through water pipes, zipping over aqueducts, leaping over a stream bed filled with sharks. Does this sound like a circuitous route to class? You bet it is. Once he arrives at Watson Elementary, Ben must face Adrian Underbite, world's largest third grader. This witty and wonderful story revolves around Ben, Adrian, and Ben's bike and has a lot to say-in sometimes delightfully sophisticated words-about bullying, charity, and redemption. Davies's cartoons are simply the bees' knees. Facial expressions, gestures, postures, perspectives: all conspire, with a ragged, raucous elegance, to make Ben Rides On an exceptional, and exceptionally likable, tale.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NYα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.