Description
Book SynopsisA tribute to friendship, boardwalks, and summer, this storybook tells of Ben and Zip, two best friends who will keep readers laughing, cheering, and guessing until the very end when they are reunited after a rainstorm.
Ben is short, but his best friend Zip is even shorter. One day while strolling along the boardwalk a summer shower blows in. There's a clap of thunder, and Zip runs off in fear. Ben pushes through the crowd to find Zip, but being so short, all Ben sees are knees. He climbs onto a bench, but now all he sees are bellies. He clambers onto a picnic table, and all he sees is hair. Ben is sure he'll glimpse Zip when he climbs to the highest point on the beach, the lifeguard stand, but Zip is nowhere to be found. Ben finally does find Zip-his best friend and dachshund-hiding out beneath the boardwalk, and the pair snuggle and munch on popcorn while the puddles dry and the beach-goers emerge from under the awnings. A unique lost-and-found tale with a surprise ending, brimming with lively illustrations, and filled with rhyming refrains that roll off the tongue, this storybook is a great read-aloud for kids of all sizes.
Trade Review"A beachside lost-and-found adventure, told from a kid's point of view....delightfully funny....The well-paced watercolor illustrations, abundant with marvelous, comic details, are a neat complement to the adventure. This boardwalk frolic proves even small fries can solve big mysteries." -- Kirkus Reviews
". . . . terrific twist at the end of this tale. . . . The eye-catching detail in Goldsmith's colorful illustrations mixed in with some repetitive and rhyming text and multi-level vantage points give the reader a sweet summertime story that won't quickly be forgotten." --Barbara Gruener, corneroncharacter.blogspot.co.il
"Ben & Zip: Two Short Friends is a charming children' picturebook about a short little boy named Ben, and his good friend Zip. [...]The delightful, free-spirited illustrations add the perfect touch to this silly, playful story." Midwest Book Review
"Readers are in for a surprise, however, when they discover Zip' identity. This is a fun-filled treat, filled with bright colors, amusing details, and beach scenes bustling with activity." Joan Kindig, School Library Journal
"Where and who Zip is turns out to be the final surprise of a happy, rhyming ending. Goldsmith uses India ink and watercolors to create naturalistic, lighthearted scenes of activity on beach and boardwalk in single- and double-page illustrations." Ken and Sylvia Marantz, Children' Literature
"Joanne Linden's suspenseful picture book, set on the boardwalk, is a breath of salty, beach air! [...] Ben & Zip is a real page-turner with playful verse and a heart-warming conclusion that's as sweet as salt water taffy." Lisa J. Curtis, New York Parenting
"The water color and ink illustrations are lively, detailed and fun. The point of view drawings could provide an extension activity for children." Sharon Turpin, pscreviews.org
