Here is my 8th grade daughter’s book review of Gentle Ben. She seemed to really enjoy the book! Check it out for yourself or for a young child in your life!
Gentle Ben was a very heartwarming story about a young boy named Mark Andersen. Mark was a sickly boy who lives with his parents. He had an older brother, but he died from a sickness. Ever since then, his parents were afraid the same thing was going to happen to Mark. He started to have the same symptoms as his brother did, but then he met Ben. Ben was one of the biggest black bears of that time and was found in the woods as just a cub.
Fog Benson, a fisherman and pirate, captured Ben and mistreated him. One day, Fog Benson decided to sell Ben. But Mark was able to convince his family to buy him. However, Mark had to promise to help his father, a fisherman, on his ship during the salmon run. Mark had already made daily trips to see Ben, and for some reason Ben seemed to have a soft spot for Mark. They formed a special bond and Mark’s symptoms of his sickness began going away.
As soon as the townspeople found out about Mark’s relationship with Ben, they decide they needed to destroy it and get rid of Ben. They were terrified of the huge bear. Mark did everything in his power to stop them, but was it enough?
I really enjoyed this book because it was very well written and had an amazing storyline that was easy to follow and had me wanting to read more. I also loved reading about their friendship and watching it grow throughout the book. It kept me entertained and I found myself not wanted to put the book down. I highly recommend this story for all readers, but especially people who like stories about friendships and animals.
