Module #5--Other Award Winners- Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy

by Christopher Paul Curtis

Book Summary: 2000 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and the Newbery medal.  This story tells of an orphan boy during the Great Depression, who runs away from his foster family in Flint, Michigan.  From a poster left by his dead mother, Bud seeks his father, band leader Herman Calloway.  He hitch-hikes a ride from a kindly Pullman Porter, Lefty Lewis, who Bud finds is a friend of Herman Calloway.  Lefty takes him home to Grand Rapids for a meal with his family before taking him to meet with Calloway’s band.  Bud discovers his unknown past through a rock his mother possessed, and he has kept through his travels to find his father. 

APA Reference:  Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press.

My Impressions: This story is a wonderful work of realistic fiction that is totally believable and draws readers into the story to find the climactic finish.  Readers feel empathy for Bud when he is abused by his foster family, sent to the shed and stung by hornets—cheering when he runs away to search for his father.  The kindness shown Bud by the Lewis family is heartwarming and Bud would have felt at home staying with them, but solving the mystery of finding his father draws him onward.  Readers delight with Bud in finding the secret of his mother’s rocks—the link that joins him to Herman Calloway.  The happy ending for Bud is that he finds a home with his family who had lost contact with him.

Professional Reviews:

This reviewer describes this book as “funny and sad at the same time” and continues to give a short summary of the book with several passages sited.  She highly recommends this book to young readers and tempts them with an unanswered question about its climax.

Marshall, J. (n.d.) Book review: Bud not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999). Reading Matters. Retrieved from http://www.readingmatters.co.uk

After a brief summary, Isaacs (1999) describes Bud as a “plucky, engaging protagonist” and mentions that the “lively humor contrasts with the grim details of the Depression era setting…”.  She continues to enunciate how this story describes difficulties that African Americans endured at this time and recommends this agreeable “read-aloud” for classrooms.

Isaacs, K. (1999, Sept. 1). Professional reviews: [Review of the book Bud, not Buddy by C. P. Curtis]. School Library Journal. 45(9). 221. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

Library Uses:  Students could use this book as a cultural and/or musical connection or a history lesson on the Great Depression.  As suggested, this “read-aloud” used with musical connections could give artistic impression for a middle-school multi-sensory project, such as art or music composition.