My Buddy

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

My Buddy is a different "boy and his dog" story. Buddy is a golden retriever who is a life line for a wheel-chair bound boy with muscular dystrophy. Don't be expecting the over-sentimentality of a boy-dog-disability story because this book is filled with real feelings, lots of information about working dogs, good prose, and specific ways that this child's world opens when he's helped by a dog.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-- A young boy with muscular dystrophy goes to a special camp where he is paired with an intelligent golden retriever who performs everyday tasks that are too difficult for the physically challenged. They are leashed together while the boy learns to give commands, and Buddy learns to obey. When they leave camp, the dog is able to help his human friend dress, attend school, shop, and play. Readers will benefit from this easy-to-read, first-person narrative of an unusual friendship that also demonstrates the desires of the handicapped to be independent and to be treated like everyone else. Graceful watercolor illustrations that emphasize the closeness between boy and dog are a perfect accompaniment to this entertaining and informative book. --Valerie F. Patterson, Queens Borough Public Library, NY

Annie Ayres

A young boy with muscular dystrophy tells about being teamed up with his best friend, Buddy, a golden retriever service dog trained to do things for the boy that he can't do for himself. This is a rather generic account of a service dog and his partner (the boy's name is never given nor is the dog ever less than perfect). Still, the work is generously illustrated with descriptive watercolors and will serve to acquaint children with the work of service dogs and give them insight into the special bond that exists between these dogs and their human partners. The wordless double-spread illustration of the boy and his dog asleep on the bed together is touching, as is the boy's closing line, "He's my Buddy."