Buddy Norman

Buddy Norman is a twelve-year-old boy in Odyssey whose imagination improves on everything around him - especially when he is nervous, when it runs completely wild, recasting bullies as Wild West outlaws and kindly adults as sinister villains. Timid by nature and afraid of nearly everything, he still finds real courage when it counts, whether standing up for his faith in a crowded cafeteria or throwing himself in front of an ambush meant for a classmate. He devours Knights of Yore books and Captain Spiff comics, writes comics of his own, and hikes with the Trail Life troop based at Whit's End, where Mr. Whittaker often helps him untangle his fears and his misread Bible verses. His father steers him with patient advice, next-door neighbor Zoe Grant shares his love of knightly tales, and Jay Smouse is his exasperating friend and frequent partner in mischief.