This book is a story that is told by and orphan. He is a ten year old African American boy that is growing up during the depression. His name is Bud. His mother dies and he is put in an orphanage. He does not have good experiences in foster homes so he decides to run away. He sets out to find his father. After walking through many towns he finds his self being picked up by an African American man. The man take him to the place where he belieives his father will be and finds himself taken in by some band members. Bud finally finds a "family".

I liked this story. I like most stories with happy ending. Even if it is not the way you want it to end, as long as the main character is happy.

I could use this book to talk about the Great Depression and what life was like for everyone during that time period.

When we meet Bud Caldwell, he is living in an orphanage in Flint, Michigan. Soon, though, we find him “on the lam” and in search of his father whom he has never met. He always carries his few belongings in a suitcase, and in the suitcase are clues his dead mother left behind about his father. This hope of escaping the abuses of foster care and orphan life propels him onward as he searches for his long lost, unknown father. The story is set during the Great Depression, at a time when little black boys are not permitted where "white folks" are permitted. The story bridges the gaps in cultural differences by using the authentic voice of a typical young boy who is struggling to be grown but is still a frightened young man. In the story he has gone through so much and yet keeps his cynical sense of humor about him.

I think this book is an excellent multicultural read for persons of all ages. The ISSUES are not overstated and do not take from the story. Many young readers will feel smarter than Bud as they may be older and more experienced about life than Bud is presented in the story. This book is excellent for its historical value for children as there are hints throughout that paint a picture of what life was like in the time that Bud was traveling... This book is entertaining and fairly easy to read but it does not skimp on the wealth of information it contains.

Extension Activity

All That Jazz Poster Activity
Lesson Title: All That Jazz Activity
Bud, Not Buddy

Students will research 1930s jazz greats and create a flyer advertising a fictional jazz band of their design.

Objectives:
• Research a topic.Build on the students’ knowledge of black Jazz musicians in the 1930s. Generate a creative flyer from information.

Materials:
• Computers, Word processing program

Resources:
• Internet sites

Procedures:
Students will research jazz greats from the 1930s by visiting these websites:

Bessie Smith www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/historical/1930s.html

Louis Armstrong afroamhistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2 %2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fjazz%2Fbiography%2Fartist_id_armstrong_louis.htm

Duke Ellington
www.btinternet.com/~dreklind/Soundone.htm.

Students will then create a poster advertising a fictional jazz band of their design. Posters could be made on paper, pencils, and colors or with as a word document.

Modifications:
• If the internet and computers are not available, then library resources and encyclopedias could be used for research.
Technology Infusion:
• Internet for research.
• Word processing program or Print Shop type program.
Cultural Connections:
Understanding of the culture of black Jazz greats during the depression ( )

bud not Buddy is kind of like a sad story. It is about a ten year kid that is an orphan. There is kid that is named Todd and Bud is getting taken care of Todd's mom named Mrs. Amos and she has a husband named Mr. Amos. Bud's mom had died and all he had was his dad but he does not know where he is and he plans to find him somewhere. One day he is sleeping and Todd came in and woke him up by shoving a pencil up Bud's nose. Bud gets into a fight with Todd and they start hitting each other. One other day he plans to go look for his dad with his other friend named Bugs. They plan to get on the train that is leaving to where they want to go. But when they get there they find out something that they didn't want to see there. They saw that a bunch of cops were protecting the train. Then a lot of people were trying to still get on. When one cop saw like more than a hundred people trying to get on so he gave up. When the other cops saw him give up they gave up. All the people were trying to get on while the train was moving. Bugs got on the train but bud did not get on. He tried to get on but he could not. After that he just went to the library to see a map. He saw how far is it to go walking and he saw how far and he figured that if he went walking starting at night he will get there in the day or morning.

This is a book about a orphan named Dud who has problens finding a home.This is a good book for kids ( )

Made me laugh; made me sob. ( )