 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Bud, Not Buddy
- By Christopher Paul Curtis
- Genre: Family Life
Common Sense Media says
Well-crafted tale of an orphan's search for home.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this well-crafted and funny tale of an orphan's poignant search for a home will keep readers turning the page. Parents should know that Bud runs away from his abusive foster family. There are frank descriptions of the horrors of the Depression. Written in a strong, compelling voice, it beautifully evokes life for African Americans, especially musicians, in Michigan during the Depression.
What's the story?
Bud has run away from his abusive foster family. He's sleeping outside and can't find enough to eat. There's nothing left to do but go find Herman E. Calloway, the man whose picture used to make Momma upset. That man has got to be Bud's father! Orphaned Bud, not Buddy, Caldwell carries a ratty suitcase full of all his possessions wherever he goes. There's the picture of his Momma as a little girl. There's Momma's old pouch, full of smooth rocks with strange coded messages written on them. But the most important thing is a flyer advertising "Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression."
Sure that this Herman E. Calloway is his father, Bud sets out to find him. But when Calloway turns out to be a grumpy old man, Miss Thomas, the Dusky Devastator's kind "vocal stylist," convinces him to give the ten-year-old a place to stay. Bud moves into the big house known as Grand Calloway Station and, with the help of Momma's rocks, soon discovers that Herman E. Calloway isn't his father at all--he's Bud's grandfather!
Is it any good?
Young Bud tells his story in BUD, NOT BUDDY in his own lively voice, making his character practically leap off the page. At times tough, sad, resilient, and funny, 10-year-old Bud is completely irresistible. His personality, coupled with the fast pace of the story, captures the attention of young readers on the first page and keeps them riveted right through to the end.
Bud keeps meeting up with good people who are willing to share what little they have, and to help Bud as much as they can. It is this portrayal of people at their best when circumstances are at their worst that ultimately makes the story a hopeful and heartwarming one.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about hope in the face of adversity.
How does Bud manage to keep going?
His mother told him when one door
closes, another opens.Do you see this happening for Bud?
Has that
happened in your life?
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AGE
best book ever.
Bud not Buddy is my favorite book, and It always will be.I first read this book in fifth grade, and I am still reading it till this day(: I have read it about 6 times. and every time I love it more. So if your looking for a good book. read BUD NOT BUDDY. hes journey is real aspiring.
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AGE
definitly deserves its awards
I love this book! It has some sad parts but still manages to be funny some of the time. I really like Bud; he has such an interesting perspective on life. I enjoyed Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. One thing I really like about Christopher Paul Curtis is that he writes about African-Americans in the North, who you don't hear as much about as those in the South.
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AGE
bud not buddy
I like this book but in class wen my teacher reads it i go to sleep
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AGE
One of my favorite books of all time
"Bud, Not Buddy" is (in my opinion) a fantastic tale about an orphan boy in the Depression era who's on a search for his father. It has colorful characters, twists, and plenty of emotion. I read it as an assignment for school, but bought it because I liked it so much.
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AGE
read it
it is a good book and i think kids and parent should read it
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Kid, 12 years old
December 23, 2009
AGE
Great
It is a great book even though I haven't read ALL of it. Sexual behavior is when someone dips someones hand in warm water while there sleeping and they "wet the bed"
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Kid, 12 years old
January 24, 2011
AGE
terribul for kids, cool for teens!
it is terribil. Bud gets locked up in a shed overnight, scared because of what his foster parents told him, "there's a blood stain on the floor from the last kid who was in there! And the one before that had a bug stuck in his ear and it didn't come out!" the foster parent really lock him in the dark shed all night! And when he tries to get out he finds they put dead fish heads on the door handle! and they tell him that there are vampire bats in the shed, Bud finds one. then he wacks it with a rake and it's really a hornet's nest all the hornets attack kim and then he finds a way out and has to fend for himself on the street! i don't like this book at all! oh, and it says an unpositave word!!!!
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| Author: | Christopher Paul Curtis |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Family Life |
| Publisher: | Random House |
| Publication date: | January 1, 1999 |
| Number of pages: | 243 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.95 |
| Paperback price: | $5.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
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