Big Ben

This is a short, easy to read, big hearted story about a boy with profound learning difficulties and his younger brother Matthew who loves him very much. First published 10 years ago, this is a new edition with lively, affectionate, black and white illustrations by Jane Ray.

Using a popular plot device in stories about disabled children, Matthew’s enthusiastic new teacher sets the class a project on how individuals contribute to the local community, Matthew really wants to write about Ben, ‘his favourite person in the whole world’, but he is reluctant to expose Ben to public scrutiny. He knows that other people’s reactions to Ben run the whole spectrum from embarrassment through to open mockery and disgust and his first response is to protect him. The scene when he finally explains to the teacher and the class what Ben can do and what he means to him, still packs quite a punch.

When Ben leaves home to go to the 16+ residential college for disabled children, Matthew worries that he will be lonely and misses him very much. But through pictures and words, the reader discovers how much Ben and his student friends are learning and the ways they are beginning to take on responsibilities. Perhaps in this respect, the story shows its age. In 2008, would you be able to show Ben and his new friends at the local college, learning important life skills but able to live at home with the people who love them? It would be good to think that you could.