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Bud, Not Buddy (Readers Circle (Laurel-Leaf)) Review
From the Trade Paperback edition. User Submitted Bud, Not Buddy (Readers Circle (Laurel-Leaf)) ReviewsOctober 5, 2008 Yay for Bud! Welcome to the world of the heyday of jazz. The year is 1936, and the world is open to a young orphan who has happened to find himself on the run. Curtis writes with zesty personality for Bud and paints a portrait of a very likeable young boy who simply wants what all of us want: a family. He's a great kid with plenty of sass who is ready to take on the world and do what he needs to do to find himself his biological father. Curtis does an excellent job of painting the culture, joys, and hardships of this time period even as they are combined with Bud's wild imagination. Plenty of fun and heart, even for adults. September 29, 2008 Bud, Not Buddy I would just like to say that this book was wonderful. Loved it. Would love to read more from the author. Very good job Curtis July 29, 2008 A great read for the stranger in the room Being born decades after the Depression, in the South, to a middle-class white family, I'm about as far remvoed from Bud, not Buddy as one can be, yet I felt right at home with Bud. I found his overall attitude and persistence interesting. He never in the book said, "I give up", instead he continued to his goal no matter how far away or far fetched it seemed to be, and when he got to his goal it didn't seem as far fetched as I thought it was. This is a great book for all readers, I enjoyed reading it, I found it to be right on par with the other Newbery books I've read in terms of story, delicate issues, and the like. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I didn't like the ending. I was left wanting more, and while there is some closure it wasn't closed enough for me. I wish Curtis had put 2 more chapters in the book to describe what happened after the news broke. May 13, 2008 Bud, Not Buddy_Literature Review It is in our most difficult times that we discover our true character and that of those around us. This type of discovery is at the heart of the tale of Bud, the 10 year-old main character of Bud, Not Buddy (Random House 1999), a novel by Christopher Paul Curtis. In this wonderful piece of historical fiction, Curtis artfully crafts Bud's story, weaving together inspiration, humor, and the realities of the Great Depression to create a heartwarming and upbeat story about the power of the human spirit. Bud's story is a fast-paced narrative describing a resilient, determined orphan in search of a new home at a time that was difficult for many Americans. After running away from an abusive foster family, Bud is forced to move through a difficult world in search of a compassionate and caring new home that he hopes he will find with the man he believes to be his father. Armed with a beat-up suitcase filled with all of his possessions and only a flyer as his guide, Bud sets out to find a better life and ends up finding more than he could have imagined. In his search, Bud encounters a number of helpful and interesting individuals who assist him along the way. At one point, Bud meets a homeless family who helps him sneak into a line to get bread. Bud also encounters a shantytown, known as a Hooverville, where families sleep in tents after becoming homeless. Bud meets families who wait while fathers and husbands hop trains in search of work. Bud's tale recounts the difficulties for many individuals, especially African Americans, during the Great Depression. Throughout his travels, Bud encounters the difficulties of finding food, shelter, and money, as he looks to others and his own strength to continue his journey. Fortunately, Bud meets a number of individuals who are willing to share the little bit that they have in order to help him. Bud's search eventually leads him to the man in the poster that he believed to be his father. Although Bud's final destination may not be exactly what he thought when he set out, it is exactly what he needed. Despite the difficult times, Bud's journey is a heartwarming tale about the compassion of strangers, the beauty of music, and the power of family. Curtis' novel is a great read for families and a perfect selection for middle school children. The 243-page novel moves quickly as Curtis' narrative-style leaps off the page. Based on the Fry readability formula, this book has a fifth grade reading level, but it may be a great for students above that level as well. Although the realities of the Great Depression may be difficult for younger readers to grasp, the life lessons that Bud encounters are valuable for any student. Despite the bleakness and difficulty of the historical setting, Curtis does an excellent job of describing the strength and compassion of the individuals. I personally enjoyed this book a great deal and would recommend it to others. April 28, 2008 Bud, Not Buddy My 3rd grade class really enjoyed listening to this story. The adventures of Bud, while many times being funny, touch my students and help them to see what another 8 year old in a past era had to endure. Great story line. February 13, 2008 An Engaging Adventure for Reluctant Readers I am the parent of a 6th-grade reluctant reader. Luckily, he will still cuddle up to listen to a good book read out loud, though his preference is for plots involving dragons, elves, and convoluted quests. I have occasionally been able to slip in a more realistic novel, but more often than not, my son will dismiss it as "BORING" just as I am getting absorbed. "Bud, Not Buddy" has been an exception. Bud comes across as a real kid with a real kid's voice and my son has found himself drawn to the character as well as the adventure (and it is quite an adventure that Bud has). I appreciate Curtis's ability to conjure Flint, Michigan, and the Depression so vividly for the reader and I love the incidental learning that goes along with the story, from the existence of Hooverville(s) to the early days of unionizing. I highly recommend this book for 10-12 year-old kids and their parents. It is a wonderful book to read out loud. December 16, 2007 easy-to-read coming of age tale of a smart kid in the Great Depression Ten-year-old Bud, living during the Great Depression in Flint, Michigan, was left after his mother's death with only a suitcase of band fliers and a bag of stones. He leaves his latest foster home and ventures on a Steinbeck-like odyssey to find his father--whom his believes to be the man on the fliers. Excellent coming of age tale that beautifully captures the voice of both a young adult and the time period. Grade: B+ December 14, 2007 A pretty good book The book I read was Bud, Not Buddy. It was by Christopher Paul Curtis. He also wrote The Watsons Go to Birmingham. This book was Historical fiction. In this book Bud was adopted from an orphanage. He goes to live with this really mean family who locks him in a shed. He breaks out and runs away to a library. On the second night at the library his friend Bugs finds him. Together they walk to Hooperville. They were going to hop a train that left from Hooperville the next morning. Bugs makes the train but Bud doesn't. Bud walks back to Flint and back to the library to get direction on how to get to another town called Great Rapids. He was told it was a twenty-four hour walk. He started to go to Great Rapids that evening. One guy saw Bud and asked where he was from and why he was walking to. Bud lied and said he was from Great Rapids. The guy drives Bud to Great Rapids and drops him off at his dad's house. Bud's dad didn't know he had a son so he was confused. I like this book because it tell me about people who aren't as lucked as I am. I think this book would be good for greedy kids because it teaches them how they are luckier than others. I was inspired by this book because of the message it sent out. I recommend this book for all kids because it is really good. December 4, 2007 You will like Bud! Bud,Not Buddy was a good book. My favorite part was Bud's "Rule to Make Life Better" because they were funny and mostly made sense. It was a little bit sad because Bud wasn't always treated well and he had no parents. Bud was an orphan boy who was determined that his dad was Herman E. Calloway, a famous jazz player. The reason he believed this was because before his mom passed away, she gave him a brochure about Herman and his band. So Bud went on a search to Grand Rapids to find Herman. You will need to read the book to find out the ending! I think you should read this book because it is funny, has an interesting twist to it. You will like Bud because he is a scrawny black boy with very good manners and is funny. He is also a great liar and never gets caught. From this book I learned that you can do anything you set your mind to and I learned alot about what times were like during the depression. This was one of the first books I really liked reading! For more Bud, Not Buddy (Readers Circle (Laurel-Leaf)) reviews click here.
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