Gentle Ben

by Walt Morey

Hardcover, 1997

Status

Available

Local notes

Fic Mor

Barcode

366

Collection

Publication

Dutton Juvenile (1997), Edition: Reissue, 192 pages. $15.99.

Description

Traces the friendship between a boy and a bear in the rugged Alaskan Territory.

Original language

English

Original publication date

1965

Physical description

192 p.; 5.84 inches

User reviews

LibraryThing member JohnD4
Ben is a bear that a boy was keeping as a pet and one night some drunk people walked by Ben and they got injured. So Ben was placed on an island that the boy didn't know of and the boy kept on trying to find him.
A very sad book.
LibraryThing member patricia_poland
This is one of my "I should have read that in elementary school" books. I wouldn't have touched it back then - a "boy's book". The story drew me in from the first page - the gentle spirit of the boy Mark and his love of a captured bear, Ben; Karl - Mark's strong father making a living with the
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short season of salmon harvesting and his very clear love for his family; Ellen - Mark's equally strong mother who understands her young son's odd relationship/friendship with a wild animal and the need for it. All family elements are touched upon in this book...nice quick descriptions of how Mark saw his mother are particularly well done which give you a real feel for her personality. I enjoyed the information about how the salmon is caught and the setting of this fictional Alaskan town. Excellent book. Glad I finally read it.
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LibraryThing member MusicObaka
The most hart warming book I have ever read. I'm not really into the whole boy being the mane person usually BUT i got hooked on this book right away. Anyone out there who is thinking of reading it I say Go For It
LibraryThing member caltstatt
This is my favorite book. Mark is a young boy who lives in Alaska and befriends a young bear cub chained in a shed behind his house. Mark's parents do not know about the friendship for awhile and are not happy about it, but allow Mark to continue to see the bear. Mark names the bear, Ben, and Ben
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grows to an enormous size. One night his former owner is drunk and comes to mistreat the bear only to receive damage to himself. The town declares the bear is a danger and must go. Ben is then supposed to be shipped to the states, but falls overboard during a storm and swims to a near island. Mark and his family take a job managing a salmon trap on the island where Ben is located. Mark and Ben are reunited, but must try to stay away from hunters. One hunter with money sees Ben and decides to pay for him to stay alive because he is such an awesome sight. So the family lives with Ben happily ever after.

My students always loved this book when I read it to them. We discussed the weather and landscape in Alaska as well as how animals such as Ben grow to be so big.
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LibraryThing member Kateingilo
a boy befriends and cares for a bear.
LibraryThing member wichitafriendsschool
The Alaskan wilderness is a lonely place for Mark Andersen, especially after the death of his older brother, Jamie. But in time Mark finds someone else to love--Ben, an Alaskan brown bear so huge that no one else dares come near him. Gentle Ben has been a favorite of readers of all ages for 25
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years, and is a timeless story of a rare friendship. An ALA Notable Book.
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Pages

192

Rating

(82 ratings; 4)
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