A Place for Ben

by Jeanne Titherington

Ben's room just doesn't feel the same since his little brother moved in. So Ben searches all over the house until he finds a place that he can call his own. But now that Ben has his place, who is there to share it with him?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

"It was never my plan to become a writer and illustrator of children's books. Although I knew from the age of ten that I wanted to be an artist, it took a long time to discover just what kind of an artist I would be.

"When I was in art school, first at Pratt Institute and then at Portland School of Art, I was a painting major.

"After exhibiting my work several times during the next few years, I was encouraged by a friend familiar with publishing to try my hand at illustration. On a whim I made a completely unorganized trip to New York, then Boston. Despite the fact that I did everything all wrong, I managed to get my first job illustrating a children's book. I've been illustrating ever since, and now, with the help and encouragement of Susan Hirschman, I am writing children's books as well.

"I grew up in Maine and still summer there, but I presently live and work in Houston, Texas, with my daughter, Anna, and son, John Gabriel. I love what I do and feel truly blessed in the life I have."

Reviews

[Khari · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art in this book is phenomenal. It very nearly reaches photographic level it is so realistic. Ben and his brother are reproduced sensitively with all of their rounded baby fat and chubby fingers. The final page where his brother is crawling up the stairs is just too cute for words.

The story presents eternal truths: older brothers get tired of little brothers and yet, older brothers desire to be with their little brothers. This book presents the fact that humans are social creatures and get lonely when we are alone, even as we long for some 'me-time'. We are self-contradictory creatures.

Story: Narrative
Art: Sensitive and realistic
Price: $5.49 on Amazon

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story about a new big brother and how he copes with the change of having a baby in the house. We read it to our three year old son who was able to relate to Ben because our one year old daughter is now big enough to be following him around and wanting to play with all his toys.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book I would recommend for families that have new additions either coming to their family, or were just born. It's a great book to teach about how no matter if a new baby comes around you will always be important. I would recommend this book for ages 4-9.

[Sammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was at the Preschool in which I worked part-time as an English Teacher, and I just went to check out the books they had for the Preschool kids. The storybook was alright, the illustrations were alright, it didn't really made me feel any strong emotions at all.

[Firstgradejags · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this book to help us learn how to take notes about our thinking while we are reading.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another beautiful book by Jeanne Titherington. The story is simple and charming, and would probably be very appealing to preschool aged children. The illustrations are very beautiful.