Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy captures the heart and hope of a 10-year-old orphan during the Great Depression. Bud Caldwell—armed with his suitcase and a list of “Rules for Having a Funner Life”—sets off to find his father, a jazz musician, taking readers on a road trip filled with laughter, heartbreak, and a little jazz magic. The fast-paced chapters and Bud’s witty voice make it a hit with my students, especially those who don’t normally pick up historical fiction. It’s a story about courage, belonging, and the power of family—new and old.

Bud, Not Buddy (Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner) by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999): When Bud Caldwell escapes from his foster home in 1936, he embarks upon an odyssey that takes him through depression-era Michigan and into the company of a jazz band. But will he be deterred from his quest to find his father?

Bud’s street smarts coupled with his naivete and vulnerability give his narration more than one dimension, but the real hook here are the funny-but-true “Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.” Many aspects of the time period are touched upon, such as hoovervilles, sundown towns, jazz bands, and the economics of keeping a white man in a black band, but far show more from reading like a history book, the novel thrives on Bud’s pluck and luck and builds to real emotional punches. show less

I found this book to be very engaging as it had a very believable, conversational type style. The author allows you to see into the mind of Bud as well as see the actions of others. This book was one of the best books I have read in a long time as it addresses not only racial tensions, but the meaning of family and looking beyond yourself to help others. Lefty Lewis' family was portrayed as fun and inviting, so much so that I hated it when the author had Bud leave to go to Grand Rapids! The ending was precious in that it gave you hope that Bud finally had a family, albeit not "traditional", and a future in music. He finally belonged somewhere!

“...that was Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things to Have a Funner LIfe and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself Number 83...If a Adult Tells You Not to Worry, and You Weren't Worried Before, You Better Hurry Up and Start 'Cause You're Already Running Late.”

“No sir, I don't know why, but my eyes don't cry no more.”

“Rules and Things Number 63: Never, Ever Say Something Bad About Someone You Don't Know--Especially When You're Around a Bunch of Strangers. You Never Can Tell Who Might Be Kin to That Person or Who Might Be a Lip-Flapping, Big-Mouth Spy.”

An engaging, well done young adult/middle grader book, Bud, Not Buddy features the 10-year-old title character, an orphan, running away from his latest abusive foster home after being show more locked in a shed for the night. He's in Michigan during the Depression, and wants to find the man he believes is his father, a band leader featured on flyers Bud's mother left him. Bud's a polite, thoughtful boy, and attracts some good luck while roughing it. He eventually connects up with the band - sympathetic singer Miss Thomas, Steady Eddie, Mr. Jimmy, Doug the Thug, and others -who welcome him and begin to teach him music. There is plenty of light shown on the time's difficult conditions, but there's also humor and happy optimism. The characters, most especially Bud, are all interesting and well-drawn, and the book is a page-turner well-deserving of its Newbery award. show less

Audio book performed by James Avery.
5***** and a ❤

In Depression-era Flint, Michigan, 10-year-old Bud Caldwell (BUD, not Buddy) is plucked from the “home” to go to a foster family. This will be the third foster home he’s been in, and he’s not impressed. But he takes his worn, cardboard suitcase with his few but treasured possessions and tries to make the best of it. Before he knows it, he’s on the lam, determined to find his own way and sure that the things his Momma left him are clues to his father’s identity and whereabouts.

I love Bud. He’s imaginative, intelligent, resourceful, well-mannered, curious, and ever-hopeful. Once he’s decided to find the man he is sure is his father, nothing will stop him. He endures show more hunger and fear, but also comes across kind-hearted men and women who help him (though he isn’t always forthcoming about his goal, and outright lies about his situation more than once). He’s also quite the philosopher – having compiled a list of Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Thing for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. Among my favorites: Rule # 83 - If a Adult Tells You Not to Worry, and You Weren’t Worried Before, You Better Hurry Up and Start, ‘Cause You’re Already Running Late.

Curtis doesn’t gloss over the difficulties faced by many during the Great Depression, giving the reader a history lesson on the conditions in Hoovervilles across America. But he also shows that with determination, hard work, and compassion people survived the hardships and formed lasting bonds. As an adult, I really appreciated the afterword wherein Curtis explains some of his own family history and suggests, no orders, the reader to “Go talk to Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, and other relatives and friends.”

James Avery is marvelous performing the audio book. Heck, I was scared when Bud was in the shed with the “vampires” and fish-guards! And at the end, my eyes started that same “stingy-eyed blinking” right along Miss Thomas. show less

I liked this book for a couple of reasons. One reason I liked this book is the language. Bud tells the story in a young and lively voice, pulling the reader in. The way the the different emotions of Bud are expressed are really well done and help the reader to feel the emotions. An example of the young voice in the book is when Bud says "human bean" instead of "human being." Another reason I liked this book was the many themes it gave. One theme that really stuck out to me was the meaning of home. Bud is looking for a literal home as well as a figurative home. Bud has multiple literal homes in the story including his foster home, under a tree, and in a box. Throughout the whole story Bud is looking for a figurative home, somewhere he show more feels loved and safe, with the father he is searching for. The big idea I got from this book was to not give up. Bud goes through many roadblocks on his journey to find his father. However, none of that stops him from getting where he needs to be and I think that the fact that the book takes place during the Great Depression really helps portray that message. show less

This wonderful story really gets across the desperation and hardship that defined life during the Great Depression. We follow an astute, young orphaned boy, Bud, from the orphanage to a foster family, to Grand Rapids to find who he believes to be his father, the jazz musician on the flyer his late mother carried around but never mentioned. When Bud finds this man he gets a surprise he didn't expect.

Bud's life is profoundly sad and Curtis' writing makes you feel the unfairness of it deeply as he keeps us intimately in tune with Bud's thoughts and feelings. However, through Bud's "Rules And Things To Have A Funny Life And Make A Better Liar Out Of Yourself" Curtis shows us that from great tribulation great wisdom is born. Overall, a show more fantastic, heart wrenching and at times funny book. show less