Bud, Not Buddy, A Novel by Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not buddy. New York: Scholastic, 245 pp.
Genre: Adolescent Literature, Fiction, John Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Award Winner.

Bud, Not Buddy, is an enjoyable and emotional journey with a young boy named Bud Caldwell whose mother dies when he is very young. Because Bud does not know who his father is, he is placed in an orphanage and then put into different foster homes. At his final foster home, where he is treated so poorly that he winds up sleeping in the wasp infested garage, he runs away and plans to try and find his father. When his mother died all he had left was a ratty old suitcase that contained some rocks his mother had given him, a picture of her, and some flyers that said "Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!" These flyers were of a band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was a very well known band and Bud just knew that Herman Calloway must have been his father or his mother would not have been so attached to those flyers. Throughout the story, Bud meets several nice people that help him towards his journey to Grand Rapids from Flint. After he finally arrives in Grand Rapids his life takes a major turn and turns out differently than he could have ever imagined. I won't tell you whether it turns out good or bad, because you should read it!

This story takes place during the Great Depression which is what makes Bud such a strong and driven young boy. He was not afraid to branch out on his own to find what he just knew was going to be his father, even if that meant being dirty and hungry for several days. He was willing to take any risks necessary, all by himself, to try and make a better life for himself. He really disliked the orphanage and would have rather been on the run forever than have to go back and be put in foster homes. The parts of the story that I found the most entertaining were, "Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things to Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar of Yourself." He refers to this list which he has created several times throughout the story, and usually uses them to translate what adults are saying into what they really mean and what his best response should be. They were all quite humorous. This book reminded me a great deal of Maniac Magee, which I also blogged about, in that both of the main characters were run aways looking for a family and a home. Their characters were very similar because they were both put in a very hostile environment yet still made a way for themselves. Very similar to Maniac Magee, I think that this book would be a great read for younger students that had a difficult home life or had experienced such a great loss so young. Both of these characters represent hope and the ability to succeed as a young child that was never expected to do so. A major difference in this book from that one is that it does not deal near as much with the issue of racial differences. Although there is some mention of the white people having more things and such, that was not the purpose of the book. I think that this story proves and sets a great example for students, that if they are determined and goal oriented then they too can achieve great success.

This book would be an excellent read aloud for a younger audience, especially if a teacher would be willing to really play (through voices) all of the roles. I would recommend this to any student who was interested in learning about how children deal with different issues or any student who really enjoys works that are similar to non-fiction, in that all the events could really have taken place and are historically accurate. If someone enjoyed this book, then they would also probably enjoy "The Watson's Go to Birmingham," which is also an award winning book by the same author.

The appropriate age range for this novel would be 11 to 14.

I loved this book and loved Bud's character. He was funny and vulnerable and just so sweet. He was the kind of kid that you meet and you just want to take them home with you. He was so well mannered, but he did not like the name Buddy and he did not want to be called that so he would let you know that he was "Bud-not-Buddy." This book made me laugh and cry and feel several different emotions which is what I think makes a great book. Also, because I really enjoy non-fiction and realistic books, I liked the realism of this book and the fact that it could have been a true story. The author actually does state in the back of the novel that some of the characters he created were actually based loosely on his own grandfathers and he included some pictures of them. I thought that was really neat!