Gentle Ben by Morey, Walt; Schoenherr, John (Illustrator) - 1965

New York, New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc., 1965. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Schoenherr, John. Beloved children's book about the magical friendship between a boy & his only friend, Ben, an Alaskan brown bear that a neighbor keeps chained up, & who, when he tried to set him free, won't leave his new human friend. It is also a story of the Alaskan wilderness before it became a state, & how the enduring bonds of friendship bring not only animals & people, but people & people, together. Winner of the Dutton Junior Animal Award Book for 1965 & basis for a 1960s' TV series, the 1967 movie, "Gentle Giant," & later remakes. Orig. published in 1965, this is the Sixth Printing (1967) of that FIRST EDITION, with DJ cover art & internal full-page pen-and-ink illustrations by John Schoenherr. AND it is SIGNED by the AUTHOR, with a personalized inscription, to half-title page. In 191 pages. Hardcover 8vo has blue cloth-covered boards stamped with a brown bear design to front/brown lettering to spine. Condition is Near Fine: exceptionally clean & bright, binding strong & straight, pages slightly off-white & just a whisper of tanning, but completely unmarked. A hint of rubbing to extremities & very slight bumping at corners & both ends of spine. The unclipped DJ is VG, with a 1" tear descending from top edge of front cover, small chips to both ends of spine & all corners, modest rubbing to extremities; beautifully protected in new mylar cover free! Our photos depict the exact book you will receive, never "stock" images of books we don't actually have! Same day shipping if ordered by 2 pm weekdays (Pacific); later orders, weekends & holidays ship very next day.