Buzzle Billy

Buzzle Billy is a 1987 Christian character-building picture book from the Building Christian Character series, and it has a genuinely imaginative premise: Billy lives in a puzzle-town where everything is made of puzzle pieces, and when he stops sharing, a pair of 'Gimme Hands' sprout from his sides, driving away the other children. The fantasy setting makes the moral lesson visual and memorable in a way that a realistic story might not, and the consequence for selfishness — the Gimme Hands — is concrete enough for young children to understand immediately. The illustrations by Jill Colbert Trousdale match the whimsical setting. The honest caveats are practical ones: the 1987 aesthetic will feel dated to contemporary readers, and new copies are essentially unavailable — this lives in used bookstores and library systems. For families who find it, though, it's a charming and faith-affirming piece of Christian children's publishing history.