Buddy System

by Sam Wedelich

A funny picture book about two very opposite kids who get lost in a museum, and the Buddy System that brings them together in an unexpected twist.

Every kid knows the Buddy System. That dreaded setup where your teacher pairs you up with someone else for a quick trip to the bathroom or a daylong field trip? If you’re lucky, you’ll get paired with a best friend. But what if you’re not so lucky?

That’s just what happens to our odd couple duo when they’re paired, nay, STUCK together on a class trip to the museum. But when an encounter with the very serious Assistant Museum Director goes awry, these two might discover there is some good to the Buddy System after all. . .

Genres: Picture Books

48 pages, Library Binding

Published October 13, 2026

About the author

Sam is a native Texan turned New Yorker. While she’s always been cartooning and writing and drawing, her main gig for many years was in the visual display world of retail.

She worked extensively for Anthropologie and Free People for just over 5 years, before taking the leap to both pursue illustration full-time and be a stay-at-home parent to her 2 children.

Sam lives in the Bronx with her husband, kids and too many houseplants (is there such a thing?!).

Sam loves to read, bake, sing and is generally never found sitting still. You can follow along with her antics on Instagram @samwedelich or at her website: samwedelich.com

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Knopf Books for Young Readers through Edelweiss+.
I appreciate how Wedelich models this system by pairing two students with different interests and hopes from the field trip. This is done with humor in both text and artwork. I was not as pleased with the stereotyped museum guide but it does add to the overall point. The ending is yet another way to use humor overlying the main point.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a book cover of a Field Trip Permission Slip and a book jacket featuring the two "buddies," this picture book about a school field trip to a museum will amuse many adult readers, among them, certainly teachers, as well as youngsters. In time-tested fashion, the students on this trip are assigned buddies with the reminder that they must stick together. The buddies at the heart of this story couldn't be more different, and the lanky girl who is assigned to be buddies with a shorter, kazoo-carrying boy, couldn't be less thrilled. She's embarrassed by him, but over time, she comes to appreciate him. In fact, when the snooty curator treats her and her classmates in a dismissive fashion, her buddy sticks up for her in a distracting way. And when they get lost in the museum, his kazoo and the extra one he brought for her come in handy. As it turns out, maybe they have more in common than they originally thought. Attractive ink and watercolor illustrations set against plentiful white space add visual interest to the storyline. Everything about this one made me smile, including some of the clever word play and the depiction of the characters, all of whom remain nameless. Oh, this one brings back many memories of the days I took my own students on field trips throughout New Orleans.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
The class is on their way to the museum and everyone has been assigned a buddy. But what if your buddy doesn’t want to be with you?
Wedelich gives us a look into the intricacies of being assigned a buddy. WHile I wouldn’t advocate for kazoos in museums, I do like the interplay between the two buddies.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

[Tiffany M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam read her newest book aloud at a recent conference and it was the best! I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy in October to read to my students in library. The only way to read this book is with a kazoo at the ready!