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    Buddy: Based on the True Story of Gertrude Lintz
    Buddy: Based on the True Story of Gertrude Lintz
    Buddy: Based on the True Story of Gertrude Lintz
    Ebook52 pages33 minutes

    Buddy: Based on the True Story of Gertrude Lintz

    By William Joyce

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    About this ebook

    Get to know the gorilla who was raised like a human in this “captivating” (School Library Journal) picture book classic inspired by a true story from the brilliant mind that brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

    Gertrude Lintz loved animals. And she had dozens, never mind that she lived in New York City. But one baby was her favorite, and she took care of this baby just like any other mother would. Except there was one difference: The baby was actually a baby gorilla named Buddy. Gertrude raises Buddy like a civilized human, but can—or, rather, should—wild animals be civilized? Based on the true story of Gertrude Lintz, the most famous dog breeder of the 1930s, Buddy is a moving, high-spirited adventure about a gorilla’s life in the city, and how the urban jungle can’t really compare to a real one.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtheneum Books for Young Readers
    Release dateJun 12, 2018
    ISBN9781481489621
    Buddy: Based on the True Story of Gertrude Lintz
    Author

    William Joyce

    William Joyce does a lot of stuff but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Guardians series, Dinosaur Bob series, George Shrinks, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also his Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Talk to William Joyce and see upcoming work on Instagram.

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    • 3/5
      Orphaned at a young age, when his parents were killed by human hunters, Buddy the gorilla was still a baby, and a sick one at that, when he was adopted by New York socialite Gertrude Lintz. Soon becoming a part of her happy family, which included animals both domestic and wild, he lived an unusual life. Raised like a human, he became a curiosity in 1930s New York City, where he was seen promenading in his suit. But as Buddy grew he became more difficult to handle, and certain incidents involving water, which reminded him of the traumatic death of his parents, led to destructive behavior. Gertie knew she had to do something to make a better and happier home for Buddy - but what...?Author/illustrator William Joyce, creator of many award-winning picture-books and children's novels, turns to the real-life story of Gertie Lintz and her gorillas in Buddy, a beginning chapter-book that hovers between picture-book and novel form. This is a highly fictionalized account, one which imagines Buddy's beginnings, and takes a number of liberties with the real story. Apparently the figure of Buddy, in this story, was named Massa in real life, and was, until his death at the Philadelphia Zoo in 1984, the longest-lived gorilla in existence. Confusingly, Lintz also raised a real-life gorilla named Buddy, although he was not the gorilla that went to Philadelphia. Leaving these issues aside, this was an engrossing story, one sure to raise questions in young readers about the ethics of how we treat wild animals. It is clear, at least in the story, that Gertie loves Buddy, and that she is wise enough to know that she cannot keep him as a pet or surrogate son. Did she learn this lesson in real life, given that she raised so many wild animals in this way? Probably not. The story here is emotionally resonant, and the artwork (as is to be expected from Joyce) beautiful. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about gorillas.

    Book preview

    Buddy - William Joyce

    CHAPTER 1

    A long time ago, in the 1930s, you might have seen many amazing things, for it was an amazing time.

    There were people who would sit at the tops of flagpoles for weeks at a time—some would sing songs, some would dance, others would balance on their heads for as long as they could, just so they would be noticed.

    There were people who were so poor they had no money for food, so they would dance in contests. They would do funny dances called the Lindy Hop or the jitterbug for days and days without stopping. The point of the contest wasn’t to see who could dance the best but who could dance the longest, and whoever won would get money for food. There was even a couple who danced all the way across the country from New York to Los Angeles!

    There were men and women who walked on the wings of flying airplanes and played tennis. There were people who shot themselves out of cannons. And a famous writer and his wife used to play in a fountain wearing only their pajamas.

    The sky was filled with airships called dirigibles, great balloons with propellers, the largest machines ever to fly.

    There were people who lost everything they had, so they roamed the open road, desperate for a friend, a meal, or a place to call home.

    There were movies like King Kong and The Wizard of Oz, and the biggest film star in the world was a little girl named Shirley Temple.

    It was a time when men wore hats, and women gloves, when gangsters had tommy guns, and rich ladies drank champagne from their slippers. And the music on the radio was as sweet and happy as any ever heard.

    It was a glorious, sad, and amazing time.

    And if you happened to be walking down the street in New York City in

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