Buster
by Dayle Eisner
This book teaches so many lessons! Firstly, there is a lesson about friendship. Buster learns that a new addition to his house is not all that bad after the kitten helps a VERY lost Buster find his way home. There are also lessons about running away and getting lost. Buster was so busy trying to get away from his home that he had forgotten where he had gone. As a teacher, this led my class into a great discussion on changes and how they can affect us and how changes can be best handled. At the end of this book when Buster is finding his way home, there is a wonderful 2-page map and legend. I plan on using this as a tool for discussing maps and directions with my second grade classroom. The book is colorful and has detailed pictured, but I did find it, at times, a bit confusing to read. The words are all over the pages and there is no consistent pattern to follow. This can makes it confusing for a child to read alone. I found it noteworthy that there are headings for each of the main ideas in the story. This was very different from what my class was used to, and gave me thoughts for wonderful extensions into classroom drama. Overall, the story's main idea was short and sweet, and was done in a different and interesting style. I really enjoyed reading it to my class and they loved the messages that the book taught. The illustrations are also impressive, made by pouring colored fiber through hand-cut stencils. A great art activity!
