Listen, Buddy

Another clever story from Helen Lester. I love the characters that she creates. They are always so quirky and odd. Buddy, the rabbit with big ears and a problem with listening, is not exception. I really enjoyed the story and the Scruffy Varmint was very amusing. I felt bad for him, having to put up with such lousy help, but Buddy eventually learned a lesson, even if it was at the expense of the Scruffy Varmint's soup.

Listening to your parents and the people around you can keep you out of trouble. That is the lesson that children can learn after reading this story. This tale of young Buddy took on a humorous approach to a topic that parents know all too well, children not listening. The language itself was very funny. When Buddy got “fifty potatoes” instead of the “fifteen tomatoes” his parents asked for, I laughed, like the author intended for the audience to do. The writing was very clear and easy to follow with clear rising action, climax, and falling action. The book really pushes the reader to think about bigger issues. Children who read this might think about the negative consequences of not listening to their parents, and how much show more trouble they could get themselves in to. The illustrations were a tad on the plain side, but other than that I have no complaints about this book. I really enjoyed the storyline, and the sweet lesson at the end. show less

I really enjoy this book. This book is about a bunny named Buddy who has big ears but doesn't use them to their proper advantages. I enjoy the humor in this book. For example, "Buddy's parents sent him to get a basket of squash and he came home with a basket of wash," and, "when they asked him to buy fifteen tomatoes, he came home with fifty potatoes." The illustrations show each scenario and Buddy just looks so pleased with himself and it adds to the humor of the statements. There's also times where his father will ask, "can you bring me a pen?" and the illustration shows Buddy bringing back a hen. Another time was when his mother asked, "will you please bring me a slice of bread?" and the illustration shows Buddy bring back a piece of show more the bed. I really enjoy the humor the most in this story and I really enjoyed how the illustrations would depict parts of the story without having to say actual words, like the examples given above.

The big message of the story is to always make sure you listen because it can keep you out of trouble. Buddy chose not to listen to his parents, but when he ran into the Scruffy Varmint, he threatened Buddy to use him as soup. Buddy ran back to his house and the story ended with, "When Buddy's parents asked for a pen and a slice of bread, Buddy listened." So from his conflict with the Scruffy Varmint, Buddy learned the importance of listening because if he would have listened to his parents in the beginning when they said go to the left, instead of the right, he never would have had to deal with the Scruffy Varmint. show less

The theme's been done before, but this is an extra funny treatment.

“Listen Buddy” was one of the favorite books growing up. Buddy is a rabbit with huge ears but never listens to anyone. He commonly responds to his parents with ‘who,what” and always messes things up because he does not listen. Buddy goes on hop by himself and ends up going the wrong way because he did not listen o his parent’s directions. The story is comical and entertaining because Buddy is very silly and acts dumb. The illustrations go along with the story and are very funny as well. At the end of the story Buddy learns his lesson when he ends up at Scruffy Varmint’s who is a scary monster. Buddy does not follow Scuffy’s directions clearly and, so Scruffy threatens to eat Buddy. Buddy gets away and never messed anything show more up ever again. This message of this story is that listening is important. show less

In Listen Buddy, Helen Lester, teachers her young readers the importance of listening and following directions. In the story Buddy does not listen to his parents. When he doesn't listen Buddy encounters a scary situation and learns the importance of listening. This book's lesson can connect well to the classroom and start classroom discussions on the importance of listening.

Buddy doesn't listen and he finds trouble. An encounter with the Scruffy Varmint helps him learn to listen. A lesson with humor.