What do you think?
Rate this book
Buddy Jim
Out in the Park one day, children, I met a little boy not bigger than you are, who told me that he liked stories about a boy and a dog and the things they did together.He said that it must be a real boy and a real dog, and there must be other animals in the story, not great, big, fierce ones, but just neighborly ones-animals a boy might, perhaps, meet when he went for walks in the woods-and take pictures of and get to know.So this is the story of the way a real boy and a real dog spent their first summer in the real country; and the fun they had together.
83 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1922
1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Gordon
134 books4 followersThere is more than one author with this name. This is Elizabeth^Gordon, author of children's books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 29, 2016
Another task for a mini-challenge in April was to read a book with a cover that made me think of Spring. I looked through my Someday Lists for a short book with a pretty cover and found Buddy Jim.
Until I actually started to read, I thought the 'Buddy' in Buddy Jim would mean friend, pal, chum, etcetera, and turn out to be the dog on the cover, maybe. But the main character was a young boy named Buddy Jim, like Billy Bob or John Boy. Once I set my brain for that idea I was ready to learn what would happen to our Buddy Jim when he moves from his city home out to a farm in the country to spend the summer.
Then I thought this would be a book about leaving home and facing fears of the unknown, and stuff like that. But it turned out to be more of a natural history lesson, because Buddy Jim got to meet all sorts of Little Neighbors (also known as squirrels, robins, beavers, house mice, harvest mice, skunks, porcupines, and quite a few other critters).
Buddy Jim had been a little nervous about going out to the farm, but he discovered that he loved the country much more than he had ever expected. He makes friends with Old Bob The Gardener, who teaches him all kinds of useful things like how to swim, how to tell the difference between a weed and a more desired plant, and how to fish. Old Bob was around a lot more than Buddy Jim's father, who showed up only twice all summer: once he scolded BJ for being late for supper, and another time he offered an extra two months at the farm if Buddy Jim promised to keep up with his school work (and Father would be the teacher.) I didn't like the Father much, but he did buy the farm just so Buddy Jim could have a place to be outside playing all summer, so maybe he was an okay guy after all.
I was a bit confused about something, though. Buddy Jim had a dog named Old Sandy, who went to the farm with him from the city. Now, all the Little Neighbors could talk to Buddy Jim in 'human speech' and tell him details about their lives and ask for him to be a nice by and not steal their eggs or put their babies in cages. But poor Old Sandy, even though he would grumble in words to himself, never seemed to be able to say anything in 'human' to Buddy Jim, his own boy! "Woof woof" doesn't sound nearly as impressive as all the little speeches the wild creatures were letting loose with every day. Maybe that was why Old Sandy and Buddy Jim never seemed to be the very best of pals like you might expect from a young boy and a dog?
The illustrations were charming and the story was mainly clever. Lessons about how to treat animals were gently persuasive, and although I must admit I think Buddy Jim was a bit too good for a typical little boy, he was supposed to be an Ideal and he did his job quite well. I have a few others by this author on my Someday List, and I imagine I will be happy with them, judging by this book.
And now, you know I have to say it: Good night, Buddy Jim.
Until I actually started to read, I thought the 'Buddy' in Buddy Jim would mean friend, pal, chum, etcetera, and turn out to be the dog on the cover, maybe. But the main character was a young boy named Buddy Jim, like Billy Bob or John Boy. Once I set my brain for that idea I was ready to learn what would happen to our Buddy Jim when he moves from his city home out to a farm in the country to spend the summer.
Then I thought this would be a book about leaving home and facing fears of the unknown, and stuff like that. But it turned out to be more of a natural history lesson, because Buddy Jim got to meet all sorts of Little Neighbors (also known as squirrels, robins, beavers, house mice, harvest mice, skunks, porcupines, and quite a few other critters).
Buddy Jim had been a little nervous about going out to the farm, but he discovered that he loved the country much more than he had ever expected. He makes friends with Old Bob The Gardener, who teaches him all kinds of useful things like how to swim, how to tell the difference between a weed and a more desired plant, and how to fish. Old Bob was around a lot more than Buddy Jim's father, who showed up only twice all summer: once he scolded BJ for being late for supper, and another time he offered an extra two months at the farm if Buddy Jim promised to keep up with his school work (and Father would be the teacher.) I didn't like the Father much, but he did buy the farm just so Buddy Jim could have a place to be outside playing all summer, so maybe he was an okay guy after all.
I was a bit confused about something, though. Buddy Jim had a dog named Old Sandy, who went to the farm with him from the city. Now, all the Little Neighbors could talk to Buddy Jim in 'human speech' and tell him details about their lives and ask for him to be a nice by and not steal their eggs or put their babies in cages. But poor Old Sandy, even though he would grumble in words to himself, never seemed to be able to say anything in 'human' to Buddy Jim, his own boy! "Woof woof" doesn't sound nearly as impressive as all the little speeches the wild creatures were letting loose with every day. Maybe that was why Old Sandy and Buddy Jim never seemed to be the very best of pals like you might expect from a young boy and a dog?
The illustrations were charming and the story was mainly clever. Lessons about how to treat animals were gently persuasive, and although I must admit I think Buddy Jim was a bit too good for a typical little boy, he was supposed to be an Ideal and he did his job quite well. I have a few others by this author on my Someday List, and I imagine I will be happy with them, judging by this book.
And now, you know I have to say it: Good night, Buddy Jim.
July 10, 2021
A neat little book...great for teaching young children to love and respect animals. Love the decorations. On the final page there is an awesome message from Mr. Racoon that is super cute. Definitely written in a style of it's time, but that's not a bad thing...my 6-year old son learned some cool tidbits of information from it, not only nature facts (such as the drumming of the grouse) but household terms like "pincushion". Very sweet.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews