Customer Reviews

My Buddy

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This book is about a boy and his dog, Buddy. The boy has a disease called muscular dystrophy. Buddy helps the boy go places and get things. Buddy is a working dog. Buddy and the boy have to do everything together. They go to school and to Mike's house to play video games. At bedtime, the boy brushes Buddy's shiny coat and tells Buddy to turn off the light. Buddy is a wish come true for the boy.

This was a good book to explain to children what a service dog does. The kids I have read the book to all seemed to understand and enjoy it. There is one picture I don't like, though, because the boy looks mad and the dog looks scared. I don't want people to get the idea that you have to be mean to make a dog obey you.

This book demonstrates the complex dynamic of helper dogs and their owners. It is beneficial to readers of all ages. How often have you come into contact with a helper dog and wondered why you couldn't pet them? They are so well-behaved and friendly looking - why not? Well, if you read this book, you will learn why not. Buddy the golden retriever is a hard-working helper, but he is also a good friend to his owner. This would be a great addition to any school library.

I had read this book when I was in fourth grade, shortly after it was released. Now, almost ten years later, I've discovered that the boy this book was based on, was a close friend of my family. He passed away last year. From what I have heard of him, he was a wonderful person, who inspired everyone that he came into contact with.

Back then and still now, I find this book absolutely delightful - which is not a phrase that I use often. It is written in way so that young children can understand what it truely means to have a canine companion, and not merely a pet. And it is heart warming for the adult who reads it as well.

I would like to encourage to read this wonderful book, if only for that special feeling you will find afterwards!

We enjoyed this book. It's a straightforward, factual style. Describes a young boy in a wheelchair who is paired with an assistance dog through a program. I agree that the page where the boy is yelling at the dog is unfortunate. We fixed that by writing our own caption at the top of the page: "I made mistakes at first." This allows us to discuss how positive dog training should work, and how the dog still has feelings even if it's well trained. Also how the person has to learn the best way to work with the dog. Fortunately that particular incident comes early in the story while the boy is still at the orientation center, and the next page goes right into how he learned to give appropriate cues to Buddy. So the caption we added was a pretty easy fix.

The book is a bit too optimistic about how easy it is to fit a service dog into a classroom setting, I think, but for this kind of intro book that's OK. I would have preferred it if the other kids in class weren't shown stepping over the sleeping dog, but I understand that this was showing an idealized situation.

All in all, it was a good way to introduce the topic of assistance teams and why the dog can't play and work at the same time. It does cover the 3 important points for young children to know: 1) only the partner should give cues to the dog; 2) only the partner should give food to the dog; and 3) you can't play with a dog who's working because the dog will get distracted, so don't touch an assistance dog without asking.

Also, we appreciated the unembellished nature of the story. Both the boy and the dog have realistic personalities, and the tasks shown are typical assistance tasks. The story is a composite based on several real children, but it would be appropriate for a classic Montessori curriculum or other primary schools that don't introduce fantasy until older ages.

Because the book does make it seem like everything will go perfectly after the first few weeks, I would look for additional books for a family who will be getting an assistance dog themselves. This one is best for teachers and parents who want to introduce diversity topics in a positive way. Also, if you have a neighbor or relative of any age with an assistance dog, this would be a good book for your own kids to start understanding the difference between an assistance dog and a pet.

This is a great book to share with my 5-year-old granddaughter. It explains service dogs at her level - in a way she understands and learns, as well as enjoys!

"Buddy is more than my friend, he's my arms and my legs." The characters are the Little Boy and Buddy. The Little Boy has a bad body disease called Muscular Dystrophy and needs Buddy to help him most of the time. I recommend this book for people who like learning what dogs can do. Also I think that this book is for people by the age of 6-10. The theme that I think goes along with this book is Friends can come in all shapes and sizes. I think that this book has good details and good pictures. So if you want to learn who Buddy really is I suggest that you read this book. by Pari Lynn

What a lovely story about the joy and independence a dog can bring to a child's life. Every child should now the unconditional love of a "buddy", whether it's their own beloved pet, or a dog that visits them when they need a little extra doggie love.

Book Review

Osofsky, Audrey. (1992). My Buddy. New York: Henry Holt and Company. This realistic fiction picture book by Audrey Osofsky tells about a

little boy with muscular dystrophy and his golden retriever Buddy.

Buddy is Service Dog that helps his little boy do different tasks. The

colorful and realistic illustrations compliment the text and make this

story an ideal book for younger children ages 4-6 years as well as

older children.

The book "My Buddy" is about a kid that has muscular dystrophy. He has his buddy, a dog, that helps him do a lot of things that he can do. This book basiclly tells you a lot of things that he does with his dog. You might want to feel sorry for the kid, but its just a book. Yes, a very cool book.