Bud, Not Buddy (1999)

Great Depression-era story about a young orphan who set out to find his unknown father. After some misadventures, he eventually finds family, love and a welcoming circle of jazz musicians. Just an excellent book. It didn't immediately grab me or I might have give it 5 stars.

Personal Response: I loved this story of survival and the search for family. Young readers will enjoy Bud’s adventures, humor, and strong will. However, Bud’s final stop on the road and the discovery of a support group will appeal to all readers.

Evaluation: This story is based on the author’s own family history. His grandfathers served as inspirations for two major characters and Curtis’ firsthand knowledge and research of the era result in an authentic setting and story. The historical details will interest readers and teach them about various facets of the Depression. The dialogue is also effective in setting the tone of the story as well as the time period; the language is not modern and includes quite a bit of humor to offset the more serious story lines. The book is told from Bud’s perspective, which will allow readers to relate to his inner emotions and worries; his fears and joys will still be familiar to modern readers, though he lives in an earlier era. ( )

This book centers around the complex life of Bud (Not buddy) Caldwell. Bud's mother died when he was 6 years old and his father left long before then. Bud gets moved around from orphanages, to foster homes and none of them stick. Bud decides to look for his father with just a picture from a music flyer and finds out how to be truly independent and self-reliant. ( )

Bud is living in an abusive foster home where the family favors their biological son over him. One night they make him spend the night in the shed and after an encounter with a hornet's nest, he decides to run away. Bud is determined to find his father, and his mother left behind flyers of a band he is in. Bud tracks down this man only to realize that this is his grandfather, not his father, but he still lets him stay with him. I think this would be a good book to read to children because my 5th grade teacher read it to my class, and I really liked it. From what I remember Bud felt like a very real character with real feelings, and I've never forgotten that scene with the hornet nest and how scary it must have been for him.

00015730

00000870