Module 5: Bud, Not Buddy

Title: Bud, Not Buddy
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Summary:
Bud, Not Buddy is a story about a ten year old boy that was left behind by his mother when she passed. When he was told by a caseworker that he would be leaving to go and stay with the Amoses, he didn't budge because he was so familiar with how the system worked. While living with the Amoses he found out that he didn't like how he was being treated by their son Todd and his mother. He decides to runaway to look for his father, well at least its what he thought, his fathers picture was on the flyers that were in his small suitcase. His mother never mentioned anything about who his real father was and he never understood why. After walking for a long time, he runs into Bugs, one of his friends and they go off together until the day they tried to catch the train. The police showed up and people were running away trying to get on the train, Bugs was able to jump on the train but Bud missed it. So he was now on his own again. After a long walk a man sees him on the highway and stops to ask him questions. In realizing that this boy was on the run, he finds out that he knows the boys father after hearing the story from Bud. He takes the boy along with him and later drops him off at the place where his father plays music at. Bud learns that this man who he assumes is his father is actually his grand-father, and that his mother left home and never returned which left a big void in his grand-fathers heart. He finally hears the true story and has come to find peace in his life.

Biography:
Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, Not Buddy. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

My Impression:
An inspiring story of a young man who sets out looking for the only person that can and should look out for him. This story has such a sad storyline that encourages you to understand how life would be without family to lean on. The character played by Bud has a strong appeal to our children that we must be strong to be able to survive life out in the street. I admire his strength for survival especially when he was placed under the care of the Amoses. He wouldn't have the determination to get out of that place if it wasn't for the personal things in his suitcase. Something as little as a flyer was all he had in finding his father, and so he lived each day protecting his suitcase. Bud was such a strong individual that knew exactly what he wanted and what needed to be done. Never feeling sorry for himself, he set out in the big world so his questions could be answered. I'm sure it was hard, tough, and scary for Bud, I don't think I would have done what Bud did.

Professional Review:

Booklist ( September 01, 1999; 9780385323062 ) Gr. 4^-6. Bud, 10, is on the run from the orphanage and from yet another mean foster family. His mother died when he was 6, and he wants to find his father. Set in Michigan during the Great Depression, this is an Oliver Twist kind of foundling story, but it's told with affectionate comedy, like the first part of Curtis' The Watsons Go to Birmingham (1995). On his journey, Bud finds danger and violence (most of it treated as farce), but more often, he finds kindness--in the food line, in the library, in the Hooverville squatter camp, on the road--until he discovers who he is and where he belongs. Told in the boy's naive, desperate voice, with lots of examples of his survival tactics ("Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar out of Yourself"), this will make a great read-aloud. Curtis says in an afterword that some of the characters are based on real people, including his own grandfathers, so it's not surprising that the rich blend of tall tale, slapstick, sorrow, and sweetness has the wry, teasing warmth of family folklore. --Hazel Rochman From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Use in the Library Setting:
I would probably want the children to do a small skit on this book. The storyline would be a more understandable if the children actually see what happens to children who are left to fend for themselves.
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