Morris and Buddy

May 1, 2007
Gr 2-4-This illustrated biography reads like a story. In 1928, 20-year-old Morris Frank, who had lost his sight four years earlier, traveled to Europe like a package. Onboard the steamship, he was dependent on attendants to take him from place to place and locked in his cabin at night. His life changed, however, when he reached his destination, Vevey, Switzerland, where American dog trainer Dorothy Harrison Eustis and her colleague Jack Humphrey were waiting to teach him to work with the German shepherd he eventually christened Buddy. The narrative clearly conveys the trials of man and dog as they learned to trust one another, and the beginnings of Morriss work to bring guide dogs to the United States. The book ends on a high note with Morris crossing a dangerous street in New York City to demonstrate Buddys reliability to the press. An afterword summarizes the rest of his crusade, which culminated in the establishment of a school named The Seeing Eye and the passage of legislation allowing guide dogs in public places. Although Ettlingers illustrations highlight important moments, they pale in comparison to the appended archival photos of Morris and Buddy. Eva Moores "Buddy" (Scholastic, 1996) covers much of the same material, but tells the story more from the dogs perspective."Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2007
In this true story, a young blind man travels from New York to Switzerland in search of independence. Sightless since a boxing accident four years earlier in 1924, 20-year-old Morris Frank embarks on a transatlantic voyage to meet a dog trainer who teaches him to get around with a carefully trained German shepherd. The clearly written story details the difficulties and satisfactions Frank encounters as he learns to work with his dog, Buddy, and to trust him with his life. After completion of the training, Frank returns home with plans to start a guide dog program in the U.S. From full-page illustrations to small vignettes, nicely delineated drawings warmed with color washes give this slim volume an inviting look. An afterword, illustrated with captioned photos, tells what happened to Frank and Buddy after they returned to the U.S., including Frank's founding of the Seeing Eye School. Books and Internet sites are appended. A fresh and engaging nonfiction choice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)