Genre 5 - Historical Fiction - Bud, Not Buddy

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1999. BUD, NOT BUDDY. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN0439221889

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Christopher Paul Curtis crafts a memorable character of Bud Caldwell. Readers will be able to identify with Bud’s desire to belong and have a family. As the story opens at the orphanage, readers understand this book will be about his quest to find a place where he belongs. Bud is a strong and smart character. Readers will want to root for him to make his way.
Set in economically depressed Michigan during the Great Depression, readers will be able to grasp the historic implications of this setting. Times are tough and Bud experiences this when he’s at the orphanage and living in the shanty town.
Curtis’ style is easy to read and Bud has a memorable voice. Young readers will be hooked by page twelve, when Bud gets the pencil shoved up his nose by Todd. “Wow! You got all the way to R.” Readers will cheer when Bud gets his revenge. Curtis obviously did research when writing this book because there are mentions of appropriate jazz artists.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
BOOKLIST: “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.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “In a Victorian ending, Bud uses the rocks he has treasured from his childhood to prove his surprising relationship with Mr. Calloway. The lively humor contrasts with the grim details of the Depression-era setting and the particular difficulties faced by African Americans at that time. Bud is a plucky, engaging protagonist. Other characters are exaggerations: the good ones (the librarian and Pullman car porter who help him on his journey and the band members who embrace him) are totally open and supportive, while the villainous foster family finds particularly imaginative ways to torture their charge. However, readers will be so caught up in the adventure that they won't mind. Curtis has given a fresh, new look to a traditional orphan-finds-a-home story that would be a crackerjack read-aloud.”

5. CONNECTIONS
· Create an author study of Curtis by reading other books, like THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM and ELIJAH OF BUXTON.
· Read other books set in the Great Depression and compare those situations to Bud’s.
· Investigate the Great Depression by looking at nonfiction materials and photographs of the time period.
· Research Christopher Paul Curtis' background. Discuss what influences led him to write BUD, NOT BUDDY.