Matt Davies (1)Besprekingen

It's definitely wishful thinking to give the bullied kid the opportunity to save the bully and thereby changing the bully's heart. So, not the most realistic take on bullying, but the illustrations are awesome and the ending is satisfying. I especially loved the smile on Ben's face when he found the bully hanging by a limb. Who'd have thought a cartoonist could turn out to be a great children's author/illustrator? (Duh.)

Great story, a little brief, but it gets the job done. The everyday issue is a moral issue. Ben is being bullied and gets his favorite thing in the world, his bike, stolen by the bully. Later, he finds the bully in a sticky situation and, after some hesitation, saves him. In return the bully repairs and returns his bike. Problem solved, lessons learned.

Ben gets a new bike and he loves riding it so much he takes the long way to school. When he gets out of class he finds that his bully has stolen his bike. He comes to find his bike and his bully. His bike is all smashed up and his bully is hanging off the edge of a cliff! Ben takes the high rode and helps his bully even though he stole his bike. Then his bully runs off with his bike still but to Ben's surprise he finds his bike fixed in his front yard the next morning. I really like this book because it showed a theme of redemption to me. I feel that as kids and young adults we all have moments where we make mistakes and may hurt others but we can always fix it. Even though the bully stole the bike, broke it, and was a jerk, he still made it right by fixing the bike in the end. This is a really important lesson to teach kids, its actually two lessons. One, that you can always make things right even when you mess up and two, that if you take the high road good things will come to you.

A boy can draw really well, but he's not keen on letting people see his drawings- especially the ones of people. But when a teacher see them, he helps Ben shine in his talent.

This story shows as a little boy learns how his drawings can effect people and their feelings.
Ages 3-5
pierce county library

I liked this book for two reasons. Reason one being the descriptive words and vocabulary. For example, the words that were used were: gleaming, devastated, peculiar, extraordinary. The second reason I liked it was the illustrations told a further story. For example, when Ben went to class he had a brainstorm cloud and lightning over his head which indicated how he was feeling even though it directly wasn't stated. The lesson in this book is that you shouldn't stoop to other's level. Just because someone did something bad to you doesn't mean you have to something back to retaliate.

I liked the story. I liked this book for two reasons. The first reason is, I enjoyed the descriptive words the author uses throughout the book. For example the author uses words like "gleaming". The second reason I liked the book is, I liked the illustrations used in the book. For example, when Ben is sad, or something bad happened the cloud that is on Adriens shirt was in the photo. When Ben was thinking about the stolen bike it was above his head. I think the message of the book is to treat people how you would want to be treated and to also learn to forgive people.

The main message of this book is to do the right thing, whether someone has wronged you or not. In this book, Ben’s bike is stolen by the school bully, Adrian. Adrian later crashes the bike and is left in a dangerous situation. Ben is given the chance to save Adrian or walk away and he chooses to do the right thing and save him. After he does, Adrian runs off with Ben’s bike, but returns it the next morning completely fixed. I liked this book for two reasons. The first reason is that it pushes readers to think about tough issues. Sometimes it is difficult to do the right thing for someone especially after they have wronged you, but it is important that we do the right thing for ourselves and for other people no matter what they have done. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The second reason I like this book is because of the plot. After Ben rescued Adrian and he ran off with his bike I thought that was the end of the book. I expected Adrian to keep the bike. I did not think he learned anything from being put in danger and then being rescued by the person he wronged, but he did. He took off with the bike so he could get it fixed and return it for Ben.

After reading this book, I had mixed feelings. The way the story was written was highly engaging and paced very well. The sequence of events described of school, facing the bully, helping the bully, and being rewarded are realizing and engaging. I felt the characters were believable, although slightly exaggerated through the language which is one reason I did not like this book. The language such as "Adrian Underbite" is a little harsh. The book continues to give the bully in the story other names. The illustrations definitely enhance the story. The setting on each page fit the words, as well as the characters' facial expressions regarding tone and mood. I also liked this book because of the plot and given suspense and conflict. Ben is faced with overcoming his anger towards the bully, and helping him off the cliff after the bully had taken his bike. At this point, the bike was pretty damaged by the bully, and Ben's feelings were hurt, but he overcame those feelings to do the right thing. This book causes a lot of deeper thinking for the reader. For example, when Ben had to decide to help someone who has been so mean, was a time for deep thinking. Further, when the bully ran off and the reader was left to think nothing would change, the bully came back and fixed Ben's bike. The message of this story is to always do the right thing because kindness goes a long way, and people change. Both the characters in this story portray each part of this message. Ben helped someone in need, even though that someone was so mean to him. Because of his kind action, the bully returned an act of kindness, fixed Ben's bike, and gave it back. This is a good message to show that bullying a bully will not result in anything positive.

I liked this story for many different reasons. First, I liked how the books big idea is to help others even if they have not been kind to you. Even though Adrian had stolen Ben's bike and ruined it, when he was in trouble Ben came to his aid. After doing this, Adrian took the bike back, repaired it, and gave it to Ben as a thank you. Bullying is a great and sometimes difficult subject to cover, but I believe this story did a fantastic job in doing so. For example, on pages six and seven, the author first introduces Adrian. This is where the reader understands that Ben dislikes arriving at school because of a bully. "It was arriving at school that Ben hated. Sadly, Adrian Underbite, perhaps the world’s largest third-grader, didn't seem to like Ben very much. But Adrian did like nice things."
I also enjoyed the artwork in the book. The illustrations looked like cartoon drawings and were humorous at times to look at. For instance, the ever-growing smile on Ben's face when he sees Adrian dangling from a branch. However, I feel compared to other children’s books I have read, the illustrations were confusing at times. For example, the black crow that is seen throughout the book (when Ben is riding his bike, when Ben is looking down at Adrian, and when Ben is pulling Adrian up). I do not understand its significance in the book as well as the cloud with the lightning bolt coming out of it (this is also seen multiple times in the book).
This book is enjoyable and contains a very strong message on bullying. I thoroughly enjoyed the surprise ended as well as the character developments that occurred in this book.½

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because of the
characters and plot. However, I did not really like the illustrations. The two main characters, Ben and Adrian, were believable and well developed. Bullying instances in schools happen often and Ben showed what it felt like to be a victim. Adrian was portrayed well as a bully as he stole Ben’s bike from him. I really enjoyed the plot of the story because of the interaction between Ben and Adrian at the end of the book. When Adrian was daggling from the branch about to fall, Ben was originally going to leave him there. However, “something made him stop” and he ended up saving Adrian from falling to his death. This moment emphasized the meaning of the story. After this occurred, Adrian still took Ben’s bike with him which he ruined. But at the end of the book, there was a plot twist as Adrian left Ben’s bike outside his house “repaired, almost perfectly”. Sometimes in books, bullies do not have a redeeming moment. This moment showed Adrian’s change of heart and surprised the reader. Although I liked these two aspects of the book, I was unsure about the illustrations. I liked in the illustrations how Adrian was much bigger than Ben as it helped portray him as a big, mean bully. However, I had difficulty understanding the significance of the black bird in many different pages, as well as the cloud with lightning that was over Ben’s head in a few illustrations and was on Adrian’s shirt. I also did not understand the purpose of the last page when the bike was put into a circular frame.
The big idea of this book is that it is always best to help others and do the right thing, even if they are not nice to you. The reader saw Ben struggle with this as he almost left Adrian dangling off of a tree branch. However, his conscious and morals stopped him from leaving and he did the right thing by helping Adrian get up, even though he has been mean to him.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read and a great way to address bullying in a children’s picture book. The big picture of the book is that kindness will be repaid with kindness. The main character, Ben, has his bike stolen from the bully in his class and eventually finds him in trouble, specifically, hanging on a branch at the edge of a cliff. Ben at first sees a chance for revenge and starts to take his bike back home, but realizes that he can’t leave the bully hanging there and helps him up. The bully ends up taking Ben’s bike again, but this time to fix it and give it back as a thank you for saving him. I found this to be a great subject to cover because while not every bully situation will end this way, it is always better to show kindness to your bully instead of seeking revenge. I also enjoyed the artwork for this book. The illustrator used a very detailed and cartoon-like style to appeal to a younger audience and to emphasize the emotions that the characters make throughout the story. The bully is portrayed as this giant third-grader who looks brutish and ugly, but ends up looking more clean and fair at the end of the book when he returns the bike.

I liked this book for several reasons. First, the plot in the book is well organized and gives readers a little suspense that will have them guessing what happens next. For example in the book Ben gets a new bike that is stolen by a big 3rd grader, on his way home from school he hears a scream and finds the bully that stole his bike hanging on to a tree and his bike crashed. Ben takes his bike and starts to leave, letting the bully hang there, but something changes his mind, he helps the bully to safety, then the bully steals his bike again. You would think after being saved he would thank Ben but instead he takes his bike again. This conflict left readers guessing, why did Ben save him? And why did the bully take the bike after being saved? Suspense rises again as reader’s wonder what will happen the next morning. I also enjoyed this book because of its ending; Ben finds his bike when he wakes up to head to school, all fixed and clean.
A second reason I enjoyed this book is because of the illustrations, they were very well thought out. For example Ben was this skinny third grader and his bully was this humongous third grader, when Ben had to pull him to safety it made you laugh and question how that was even possible. Another reason I liked this book is because it pushes readers to understand the big idea; Revenge is not the best answer. Just because someone dos something bad to you does not mean you have to get back at them, two wrongs do not make a right. This is very clear in the book when Ben wants to leave the bully hanging, but instead he does what’s right and pulls him to safety, although the bully takes his bike again he returns it to Ben the way it was. Doing what’s right will always have a reward, it may not come immediately but it will come.

I really liked this book. I think it is a great book to have in first-third grade classrooms because it deals with an important issue of how to deal with bullies. I thought the storytelling was fantastic in this book. After Adrian had stolen Ben's bike and Ben found it broken, I really liked the moral decision Ben had to make whether he would save Adrian or not. I also liked the red herring of Adrian running off with the broken bike again. only to come back again with it fixed and looking brand new. I think the big idea of the story is no matter what, treat others with respect even if it seems like they don't respect you.

I like this story because of the way that the illustrations were drawn. For example, on one of the pages the main character Ben was drawn on the whole page and his freckles, his hair, and his eyes were all drawn in goofy detail. His body, along with the bully’s body, were not drawn to proportion. I feel that this unique technique was used to lighten the theme of the story. This story had a theme of knowing that if you help someone, no matter who they are, they might do something nice in return. This story also shows that it is good to forgive. Ben could have taken his bike and left the bully who stole his bike in the tree, however, he helped him, and as a result, the bully fixed up Ben’s bike and gave it to him the next day. The bid idea of this story is to treat everyone the way that you would want to be treated.

I enjoyed reading this book because I think it taught an important lesson. It showed how important it is to forgive. A much bigger student takes Ben's bike and ends up riding off a cliff. Ben could have taken his bike and left the student but instead he ends up helping the bigger kid. Then the student gets Ben's bike fixed and surprised Ben. It teaches an important lesson to readers. It shows how to be the bigger person. The illustrations in this book are also interesting and unique.
The reading level is third through fourth grade, and the genre is fiction.

I liked this book because I liked the way the main character was nice to the bully. I thought this was nice because it relates to life. There are going to be mean people that we are going to interact with in the real world. The best thing to do is be nice to them. I thought it was nice that even though Adrian took Ben’s bike, Ben was kind enough to help Adrian when he was in trouble. I thought it was really sweet of Ben to help Adrian and be the bigger person. I also liked how Adrian fixed and returned the bike to Ben. Ben was able to show kindness to Adrian. Adrian felt bad, and fixed the bike and gave it back. I thought this was nice. I think that the main theme in this book is: just because someone is mean to you, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be nice to them. Someone could be mean, and they could be dealing with something at home or be having a bad day. It is always good to be nice because then you could make someone’s day better.

This story is about a little boy Ben who loves his new bike, but it is taken by a boy named Adrian. He found his bike broken on tree, and found Adrian hanging from a branch. He left Adrian hanging and took his bike. He then realized he should go back and help the boy who had taken his bike. Even after saving the boy, Adrian took off with broken bike. The next day, the bike was back at Ben's house and almost fully repaired. I like how the message of this book was that even thought the little boy was bullied, he helped when the other boy was in trouble. In turn, the bully repaired what he had broken and returned it back to its owner. At first you think after being saved the Adrian rides off with the bike again, only to find out a couple pages later that he fixed it and returned it. This kind of ending can keep a reader interested and surprised. The character Ben goes through many emotions in this story. At first he is excited for his new bike. Then, he is angry and only wants to get revenge. He then has empathy and saves the bully. Lastly he is excited to get his bike back again. The bully also goes through character development. He is mean in the beginning, but then is saved and changes his attitude by fixing the bike and returning it to his owner.½

Ben had received a new bike and was excited to ride it. But he disliked going to school because of a bully named Adrian. Adrian took Ben's new bike, which made Ben furious and wanting to get back at Adrian for taking his bike. On Ben's way home, he heard a loud sound and saw that his bike all bent up messed up and Adrian over the edge and hanging on. Ben pulls Adrian to safety and Adrian runs away with the bike. Ben is devastated that he lost his bike again. Then Adrian had returned Ben's bike almost as new. Adrian's attitude had changed when he was hanging from the edge and when Ben pulled him to safety. Books show that it pays to be nice to everyone because one day you might be in a pickle and may need help. Books also show that people can have a change of heart.

This story shows children the importance of being kind, even to those who are not kind in return. While I think that this book would be a good read for those children who have been bullied, I think it may be even more appropriate for those children who are the bullies, as it shows that anyone can change their ways. Although bullying isn't as simple an issue as this book makes it seem, and it may not cease simply because a child is nice or helps their bully in some way, I do think that the book's message is a good one. This book may not turn the tide for a kid who has already made a habit of being a bully, however, it may serve to show kids who haven't yet had the experience of bullying or being the bully that kindness pays off.

This book tells the story as of a young boy, named Ben, who was bullied by the "world's largest third grader". The bully takes Ben's new bike and ruins it. Ben finds his bike and finds out who stole it when he sees the bully hanging on a tree branch over the side of a cliff near the bike. Ben Was going to leave the bully there as revenge but instead decides to be the better person and do the right thing by helping him. The bully takes Ben's bike again, but this time, he brings the bike back to him the next day all fixed up. I loved the story's message. This is a great book to read to young children to teach them about forgiveness and how to treat others.

“Ben Rides On,” was an okay book. It was a book about a little boy who got his favorite bike taking from him by a bully. The bully destroys the bike, but the little boy helps him so he won't get hurt. The next day the bully brings the bike back to the little boy, and he fixed the bike to apologize for what he did. This book is told in the third point of view. The narrator tells the little boys story the whole time. In this book, it is a little different than most. The characters never really have a conversation with each other. The book is told strictly by the narrator, and that is pretty interesting. It gives the plot a different feeling to it. Even though the book is told by a narrator, it does a great job to make sure that the story still appeals to the young readers. The theme of this book is all about kindness. It also teaches children how the bully is not right and when you do wrong things, bad things start to happen. The bully in the story realizes this, and he tries to make things right by fixing the boys bike and bringing it back to him. The narrator makes sure to explain the story in a way that children can read the book and enjoy it.

I am on the fence about this book. It is about helping a bully......but referring to the bully as a "gahoot" is also being a bully.

Sarah Durkin
Professor Martens
EDUC417
22 March 2016
Reading Log Entry #18: Ben Rides On by: Matt Davies
I enjoyed reading this book for three main reasons. Fist, I like how the main character, Ben, chose to ride his bike to school everyday. This shows children that there are multiple ways of traveling to places For example people get around by driving a car, boat, motorcycle, plane, etc. Secondly, throughout the entire story on almost every single page, there was a crow that accompanied Ben on his journey. This allows readers to use their imagination and explore the importance of the crow’s contribution to the story. Finally, I liked how this story had multiple similes. At the climactic moment of the story there appears a wonderful simile, as Adrian Underbite “lunged like an airborne walrus toward his rescuer.” Students and readers are able to predict what is going to happen next. Even if a younger reader were to read a simile like this, the illustrations would help them to understand what it means. The overall message of this story is not to bully. Bullying hurts people’s feelings and when it comes down to it, people should treat others the way they would want to be treated.

Ben had the bicycle of his dreams that he could ride back and forth to school with instead of walking. Arriving at school that day, Adrian the third grade bully, stole Bens bicycle and rode off. When the school bell rang at the end of the day Ben began to walk home until he heard a peculiar sound. Without hesitation Ben sprinted to see what the ruckus was. Ben had found his bicycle broken in a tree, and Adrian hanging on tightly to a tree branch over a cliff. Ben wanted to leave Adrian hang, but Ben decided to pull Adrian up. After Ben pulled Adrian back on land, Adrian snatched the bicycle and ran into the distance. The following morning Adrian laid Ben’s repaired bicycle on the fence in-front of his house.
The illustrations are detailed well with a variety of lines, pencil sketching’s, and water color.