My Friend Ben Won't Share

by Charles Beyl, Charles Beyl (Illustrator)

Overview

Chip and Ben are best friends. They like to swim together, build together, and create stories together. But when Chip and Ben fight over the same toy dump truck...SNAP! The truck breaks, and the boys' friendship is fractured. Chip can repair the truck—can he repair their friendship, too? This funny, straightforward story will resonate with all toddlers and their parents.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807554432
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Series:	A Chip & Ben book
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.75(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD460L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Charles Beyl lives in Sugar Land, Texas, where he writes stories, creates humorous illustrations and cartoons, and keeps an eye out for snakes and alligators. When he is not in his studio, you can find him teaching college students, riding his bike, or playing with his amazing grandchildren.

Charles Beyl lives in Sugar Land, Texas, where he writes stories, creates humorous illustrations and cartoons, and keeps an eye out for snakes and alligators. When he is not in his studio, you can find him teaching college students, riding his bike, or playing with his amazing grandchildren.

Editorial Reviews

"The book makes an active decision not to preach or dole out firm lessons…a pleasingly subtle variation on a familiar theme."—Kirkus Reviews

"Beyl's bright illustrations—carrying clever details like the log boat in which Ben’s father ferries him to Chip’s house, and the fort that looks as if it’s made out of Lincoln Logs—make this relatable."—Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-01-13
Two busy beaver buddies find their friendship put to the test.

Chip would be the first to tell you that Ben is a good friend. Both enjoy building forts and towers, making stories, and playing in the water. Alas, they also both like Chip’s dump truck, and when Chip feels that Ben has used up his time with it, a tug of war ensues. In a surprising display of poor toy-truck construction, it snaps in two. Chip mulls over whether they can ever be friends again, but after much contemplation (and Ben’s apologetic application of duct tape), forgiveness springs from both parties. In framing the dilemma as one in which the guest refuses to share one of the host’s toys, the book places the weight of the resulting disaster on both parties; shouldn’t Chip just let Ben play with the truck, knowing Ben will eventually go home? That is not to say that some very young readers won’t side entirely with Chip against Ben. Yet the book makes an active decision not to preach or dole out firm lessons. This message is one of exculpation rather than a correction for the future. Simple, cheery cartoon art places all action in an anthropomorphized beaver world where some drive floating cars made out of huge logs and Chip’s mom sports a jaunty sleeveless T.

The tale offers commiseration in lieu of a corrective—a pleasingly subtle variation on a familiar theme. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews