Daisy Bix

I like this story for several reasons. I like the way the author tells a very realistically sad tale, and turns it around to make it positive. It shows the importance of the pound and what rescuing an animal from one really means. I like the way the author told the story from the dog, Buddy’s, point of view. He tells about how happy is life is now and how much he loves his family, while also telling how hard his life used to be. How hard getting food and water once was for him. He tells about his patience towards people and how eventually he got rescued. The author chooses to tell the hardships of animal abuse by comparing and contrasting what life is like for Buddy in both the abusive, and happy home. I like how the author develops the story and gives the reader a sense of hope through compare and contrasting Buddy's life. Buddy starts by telling about his happy home and family, then he tells his life story up starting with his abusive home, and ending at the point where his current family rescues him. The moral of this story is to never give up hope. Good things will come.… (mere)

I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked that the book was told from the point of view of the dogs’ thoughts because this is different from many children’s books that kids read. However, I found that it was often difficult to know who the thinker was since many of the pages have multiple dogs pictured on them. I liked the fact that the illustrations were very similar on each page, taking up majority of the page with only a small line of text at the bottom. These illustrations are very realistic and appealing to kids who like dogs. Although this book would be appealing to kids who like dogs, I do not feel as if all children would find this book interesting. Another thing that I dislike about this book is the fact that it just starts and ends. There is no real plot because it is just a story about what dogs like to do at the dog park. Overall, the big idea of this book is to tell kids of activities that dogs engage in at the dog park from a unique perspective.… (mere)

A mixed-breed dog named Buddy, now living in a loving home with a good family, tells the story of his life in this simple story, contrasting his many current blessings, from plentiful food and water to human companionship and care, with the neglect and abuse he suffered in his past "home." Chained up in the back yard by his former family, Buddy was frequently left to the elements, from rain to snow, with inadequate food and water, and no protection from local children, who threw things at him. Always hungry, and frequently in pain, he eventually gave up, lying down in his twisted chains to die. But then a most unexpected thing happened: a stranger arrived to unchain him, and bring him to a warm shelter, where he was nursed back to health, and a wonderful new family found him...

Like Maggie's Second Chance, which was also illustrated by Joe Hyatt, Buddy Unchained is part of the Sit! Stay! Read! series, put out by The Gryphon Press, and intended for use in the classroom, as part of a humane education program. I think it will work very well toward that end, as the simple text - no more than a few sentences per page - clearly raises the importance of proper and humane care for dogs, and the suffering, both mental and physical, caused by neglect and cruelty. Buddy's story is immensely poignant, and the accompanying artwork by Hyatt really captures the emotional pitch of each scene, from the heartbreaking depiction of Buddy, shivering in the rain, to the far more happy image of Buddy in his new home (seen on the cover). A brief afterword includes a list of resources, and suggestions about possible actions to take, if one sees a dog being mistreated. Recommended to young animals lovers (with the caveat that there are some disturbing moments in the book), and to anyone looking for children's stories to use in humane education.… (mere)