Avid readers of the ongoing adventures of Buddy, an energetic 11-year-old redhead, as told by local author Kenneth William Budd, will be happy to see the fourth and last book in the series, SpringRush, now on the shelves.
Though Budd’s books are intended for juvenile readers of around Buddy’s age, they are set in the 1950s and spark golden memories for adults over the age of 55.
Do you remember playing marbles in the school yard? Or finding a great camp site for your class wienie roast? Or the smell of the summer cabin when you opened it up in the spring? That’s the rush in SpringRush. Budd’s language is evocative. It will all come back to you.
In SpringRush, Buddy is just coming out of his funk left by the death of his grandfather, a beloved father figure, in the previous book, WinterFree. He is helped by his good pals, Mokey and Riel.
When the three are not roaming the prairie or stumbling on to bears or snakes near their Buffalo Crossing home, they are in school together. It’s easy to see that Budd has been a teacher and counsellor for children for most of his professional life — he clearly understands the ways of school kids.
Buddy is having a terrible time with a teacher he dubs the Red Witch, who seems to pick on him more than others. Buddy could easily go off the rails and abandon school at this point, but when his anger gets the best of him, he is saved from disaster by a caring principal, Mr. “Army” Armitage. The message is clear, particularly in light of the current teacher dispute. One bad teacher can scar a kid for life; one good teacher can impel a student to become a better person.
Buddy’s brush with religion, a process that began in WinterFree, continues in this book in a sensitive and provocative way.
This book starts slowly and in a slightly disjointed fashion, but it develops into a fine story and finishes with a sense of closure. Sadly, this is the last book in the series that started with SummerWild. An enjoyable aspect of this book is its epilogue that tells the reader what happened to all the characters as they grew up.
The author recently arranged for three lads, Fergus Shields, Quinn Shields and Owen Semaniuk from Cedar Grove Elementary in Gibsons to receive their complimentary copies of SpringRush, in appreciation for acting as the characters on the cover of the new book.
All four novels are available at Talewind Books in Sechelt and Windows on the Water in Gibsons or by ordering from the author at www.summerwild.ca.
