Fiction - Animals - General & Miscellaneous, Fiction - General & Miscellaneous

Old Ben

Name: Old Ben
Author: Jesse Stuart
ISBN: 9780945084235

by Jesse Stuart, James M. Gifford (Editor), Chuck D. Charles

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Overview

For Shan, it began as an ordinary summer's day. He was doing what he liked best, walking barefoot down a wellworn cow path to a clover field where he knew a sweet apple tree grew.
Then he met Old Ben, a big bull black snake, sunning himself in the clover, and that summer day and all the days that followed, until early fall, became extraordinary.

"The only good snake is a dead snake." That's what Shan's father had always said. But Old Ben with his gentle, friendly ways changed that saying and brought a new understanding about snakes to every member of Shan's family.

When young Shan befriends a bull black snake, his Kentucky mountain family decides that perhaps the only good snake isn't a dead snake after all.

About the Author, Jesse Stuart

Jesse Hilton Stuart (August 8, 1907 – February 17, 1984) was an American writer who is known for writing short stories, poetry, and novels about Southern Appalachia. Born and raised in Greenup County, Kentucky, Stuart relied heavily on the rural locale of Northeastern Kentucky for his writings. Stuart was named the Poet Laureate of Kentucky in 1954.

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Editorials

Audrey Smith

Old Ben was about how a boy teaches his parents that a black snake could be useful. I read the book and liked it a lot. I would like to read it over again. It made me want to get my own snake! The author said that this story was based on a real snake. Audrey Smith, age 8.

Kirkus Reviews

This is Jesse Stuart's seventh Kentucky-set story. Shan discovers that there's friendship in a bull black snake when he chances touching its soft skin: he christens it Old Ben and installs it comfortably in the cornbin where it dutifully gobbles destructive mice. After winning over Shan's father and mother, his young cousin Ward, and the family dog, Old Ben even ingratiates himself with the cows—but then, one day, he disappears. Nice and easygoing.

Michelle Wireman

Old Ben is a story about a boy and his snake. I have been teaching my child through homeschooling and I found this book to be great for a 8th grade reader to do a book report on. She started reading the book reluctantly however, when she started reading it she just couldn't put it down. She enjoyed this book and I enjoyed watching her read.