Ben Rides On

April 8, 2013
Illustration comes naturally to Davies—his editorial cartoons won him a Pulitzer Prize in 2004—and this satisfying tale of a boy, his beloved bicycle, and the bully who steals it is a fine debut. When the marvelously lunkheaded Adrian Underbite takes Ben’s bicycle for a joyride and hurtles off a cliff, Ben leans over the edge and sees Adrian clinging to a tiny branch. “How extraordinarily terrible,” Ben thinks, though his toothy grin conveys quite another emotion. But Ben’s conscience smites him, and he goes back to rescue Adrian with results that blend decency and humor. Davies’s figures have string-bean bodies and bobbly heads, and they dash headlong through the spreads. A crow sidekick provides extra mirth: “Hauling the big galoot proved to be a challenge,” Davies writes about the cliff rescue, “but Ben pulled Adrian to safety (with some help from a friend).” The crow appears next to Ben, pulling for all it’s worth; after its magnificent exertion, it topples over, exhausted. A story about doing the right thing that pumps up the laughs and evades smarminess. Ages 4–7. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.

Starred review from April 15, 2013
Young readers and listeners will feel like cheering when this unprepossessing hero gets his due. Davies' signature caricature art lends itself perfectly to an exaggerated visual accompaniment for this earnest, simple and sweet tale of a boy, his bike and a bully. Ben's great new bike takes him by any route he likes to school, including the long one over hill and dale, hopping across a stream on the heads of what look like sharks, leaping a line of school buses. But, alas, arrival at school only means that Adrian Underbite ("perhaps the world's largest third-grader") makes off with Ben's bike. When Ben later finds Adrian in "a significant spot of trouble," both readers and Ben may find that doing the right thing is not the first thought that comes to mind. "How extraordinarily terrible," Ben muses sardonically. There are a few tense moments in the brief narrative when it seems that no good deed will go unpunished, but a familiar story emerges--spoiler here: A bully has a change of heart--and it becomes astonishingly fresh and fun in Davies' hands. Davies' cheeky, cheerfully frayed line gives readers figures somewhat larger than life--and indeed twice as natural. Ben's hasty, heroic hoodie rescue is dramatic and funny, and the last line and accompanying illustration will provoke out-loud laughter. Great amusement for the bold and timid alike. (Picture book. 4-8)

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May 1, 2013

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, NY

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