Come Back, Ben (I Like to Read) (I Like to Read Books) by Ann Hassett

I Like to Read

by Ann Hassett

"Bye, Ben," says his sister as Ben's red balloon takes him up, up, up . . . A house has a face, hills change their shapes, and a rainbow reverses its colors as Ben's balloon floats him all the way to the moon. The day is full of happy surprises! All objects have life and are subject to change, underscoring Bens sense of joy and wonder.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Adventure, Space, Young Adult

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben has a wonderful balloon that seems to ascend all on its own. Ben receives warning by many friends the higher he goes, but it is only when he reaches a special place that he earns his greatest reward. Neo loved it and wondered if I could buy him a balloon that would go that high all on its own. I can see the lawsuits and calls to his mother now!

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben and his balloon float off into the sky, with many things telling him to come back. He eventually does after an off world visit, but the family isn't done adventuring yet!

Something about this disturbed me. Though I love the imagination and problem solving, I found it distressing that all these inanimate objects try to encourage Ben to come home, but the people seem to be fine with seeing each other float off. Could easily be read without this element, but I just didn't like the implications.

No content issues.

[Lauren Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for the way it made my child belly laugh.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, just didn't work for me. I think I had different expectations because it's designed like a picture book to be shared, not an easy leveled reader format. But I think maybe the best format would actually be a board book. Even so, I suspect I would only give it three stars.

My opinion, not tested with any real child (and as other reviewers have said, real children have enjoyed it).

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

January 2020 - Ben read this one completely by himself!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story, easy-to-read and with fun illustrations. Ben had a balloon, and as it went up, so did Ben -- higher and higher. Funny ending.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick book that explores Ben's adventure to the moon with his balloon. It was a quick read and the pictures were perfect for children and adults.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids seemed to enjoy the repetition in this one as Ben and his balloon went on an adventure.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple book that is a favorite of my son Ben!

[Kristi Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come Back, Ben reminds me of one of my all time favorite books The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse, as well as Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon. Ben is carried off by his red balloon. As he flies through the air different inanimate objects speak to him saying, "Come back, Ben". Most of the objects can be easily identified by young children, therefore making the picture clues very usefull. The one exception might be the hill. To me, it looks more like a mountain, especially when compared to the other mounds around it. Ben arrives on the moon, fills his pockets full of moon rocks and float back down to his home. As he waves goodbye to his balloon the reader learns that his sister has floated away with the balloon.

This title is recommended for first grade, but can be appropriate for children who are reading at an advanced level. It is leveled at a D based on the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Level and focuses on reading standards for Literature and Foundational Skills in the English Language Arts Common Core Standards for kindergarten through second grade.

[Alexis Labenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come Back, Ben by Ann Hassett is a wonderful, adventurous story about a young boy named Ben. The book starts off with Ben holding on to a balloon at his house and he starts to fly up into the sky. Each page Ben gets further and further up in the sky, passing trees and hills. Each object has an excited facial expression, and instead of being scared Ben gets more excited the further he goes up. Ben eventually reaches the moon. The moon even says hi to Ben. Ben puts moon rocks in his pockets and floats back down to his house. The book ends by his sister holding on to the balloon and going up to the sky.

An activity that would be good for this book would be to have the student think about an adventurous time they have had in their life. They could create their own story by drawing facial expressions and their own stories on a red balloon. This is hands-on and the students will get to relate the book to their own life.


Helquist, B. (2013). Grumpy Goat. New York: Harper.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben has a balloon. It carries him up, up, up. Various things ask him to come back--the window, the bees, the kite, the big hill. Up he goes to the moon where he gets some rocks, turning it into a crescent moon. Then he comes down again. Then he releases the balloon. Clearly designed for beginning readers this book has a ton of repetition and bold cut paper and ink illustrations that are very kid-friendly. It is, however, very slight.

[Kate McGinty aka Caryn Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben grabs onto the string of a giant red balloon. Together, they travel through the window and up, up, up, past mountains and rainbows until they reach the moon. Once Ben returns, his pockets filled with moon rocks, it is time for the balloon to go on a new adventure.

A simple, cute story that is especially good for beginning readers. While the illustrations are rough at times, they have some cute details and the story itself is fun -- especially the twist at the end.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben's red balloon takes him way up past the trees and the hill all the way to the moon and back. Once he returns with his pocket full of moon rocks, it's his sister's turn to float into the sky. Young readers may enjoy the simple story that describes their own fantasies about floating into the sky on a balloon. The cut paper and ink illustrations are simple but fit the story just fine.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent example of a non-didactic book for early readers. The vocabulary is simple and limited, but very tongue in cheek. The cut paper and ink illustrations boost the text by adding astonished expressions on each of the objects that Ben passes as he floats away hanging on to his balloon. Humor that even youngsters will understand.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every kid loves balloons and this book is an adorable tale of a journey Ben goes on while hanging onto the string of his bed balloon as he goes up, up, up...then he lands on the moon and finds a way back down. I plan to create a lesson around this book too! 4.5 stars

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a balloon!

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read text and fun cut paper illustrations take the reader on a journey with Ben and his balloon.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute easy reader that could also work for storytime.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben travels all the way to the moon in this beginner readers story. Could be used in toddler storytime.

[Stephani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this book! Part of the "I Like to Read" series. I have found that these books are perfect to read together with my 5 year old emerging reader.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book at the Notable Discussions. Cute!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for early readers. Thumbs up!

[Elizabeth]

Picture book-sized. Not sure if I'd really read this at story time, but the text and pictures are simple enough that I could.

[Darcie Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning readers will enjoy the simple adventure Ben has, as well as the resolution and a little humor at the end.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

great to have the kids interact and help to tell the story

[Scottsdale Public Library]

A colorfully fun and uplifting tale of a little boy's adventure with a balloon!
-- Monty K.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one got old pretty quickly. I liked Ben's balloon adventures but not the overly repetitive text.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yay -- My six-year-old son could read this book by himself.

Boo -- My six-year-old son didn't want to read this book at all. He found it "boring". So did I.