Curtis, Christopher Paul. (2004). Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Random House Children's Books. 272 pp.

Grade Level: 6-9

Genre: historical fiction

Summary and Critique

Set during the Depression era in Flint, Michigan, Bud, Not Buddy tells the story of a 10-year-old orphan named Bud. After managing to escape a terrible foster home, Bud--convinced that Herman E. Calloway, the bass player for the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, is his father--heads to Grand Rapids hoping to find him. Thanks to a kind man named Lefty Lewis, Bud finally makes it to"his father's" club. Herman and the men at the club can't believe their ears when Bud claims that he's Herman's son, but they decide to take him in anyway. Ultimately, Bud and Herman make a surprising connection.

Bud's spunky voice makes this story fly by. Part mystery, part journey, and part self-help guide (see Bud's hysterical"Rules for Living"), this book is a great read-aloud for the younger grades, and a terrific book for middle school, high school, and adult readers, as well.

Awards

Newbery Medal

The Coretta Scott King Award For Narrative

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award

International Reading Association Children's Book Award

William Allen White Children's Book Award

ALA Notable Children's Book

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in Social Studies

Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal

Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly

Notable Book of the Year by New York Times

Winner of a Golden Kite Honor Plaque for Fiction

Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List

A Parent's Choice Story Book Award

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Program Master List

Tennessee Volunteer State Award 2001-2002 Master List

Virginia Capitol Choices Award

Hawaii Master Reading List Award

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Generations

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Challenges and Triumphs

Author/Illustrator/Editor Information

From 1972 to 1985, Curtis worked in the Fisher Body Plant in Flint, Michigan. During that time, he earned a degree at Flint's branch of the University of Michigan by attending classes after work and during the periods when the factory was closed. His first book, The Watsons Go To Birmingham –1963, received the following awards: 1996 ALA Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award, ALA Notable Children's Book, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.

For more information on Christopher Paul Curtis:

http://www.powells.com/authors/curtis.html

Read an interview with Christopher Paul Curtis.

Media Connections

Movies

Riding the Rails (2003) At the height of the Great Depression more than a quarter of a million teenagers were living on the road in America, many criss-crossing the country by illegally hopping freight trains. This film tells the story of ten of those teenage hobos -- from the reasons they left home to what they experienced. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/

Jazz, A Film by Ken Burns (2001) This film begins at the beginning, in New Orleans, then traces jazz'history from Dixieland to Avant-Garde, from the East Coast to the West Coast, and from predictable ensembles to totally free improvising. http://www.pbs.org/jazz/

King of the Hill (1993) Director Steven Soderbergh brings A.E. Hotchner's childhood memoirs to the big screen in this tale about people banding together to weather the hardships of the Great Depression.

Like Mike (2002) Calvin Cambridge is a likeable 14-year-old kid who lives at the Chesterfield Group Home orphanage. This teen has two aspirations in life: to be adopted by a loving family modeled after the Banks family from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and to be a basketball player.

Annie (1982) A drama about a young orphan named Annie who escapes the orphanage in search of her parents. This movie addresses issues of abandonment and the need to find your identity. Use as a connection to show the difficulties of loneliness and abandonment, but to present the hope that life can offer gifts to each of us.

Cast Away (2000) A drama of survival when the main character, Chuck Nolan, is stranded on a deserted island. This movie presents the thematic idea of survival, as does Bud, Not Buddy. There are many clips throughout this movie that would connect to Bud's feelings of abandonment and fear, as well.

Music

"Always on the Run." Performed by Lenny Kravitz, from Mama Said. Virgin Records, 1991. A song that discusses the advice, words of encouragement, and warnings received by his mother. This song could be used in connection with the memories Bud shares about his mom.

"Maybe." Lyrics by Martin Charnin, Performed by Aileen Quinn, from Annie. Sony, 1982. A song that discusses the possibilities of where Annie's parent might be and how life would be if she lived with them. Possible connections: Bud searches for his father in hopes of finding someone to love him, just as Annie seeks to find her parents.

"Place in this World." Performed by Michael W. Smith, from Go West Young Man. Reunion, 1990. A song that talks about finding your own personal place in the world where anything is possible. Possible connections: Bud searches for his place in the world when he goes on his search for his father.

Television

Dawson's Creek. A series that shows the typical struggles and triumphs of adolescent life. Use your discretion, for many episodes are inappropriate in a school setting.

Survivor. A game show series forces the contestants to find ways and means of survival in different locations around the world. They are also presented with challenges by the host that will make them better adapted to survive. Possible connection: Bud is forced to survive in the world after his mother dies without revealing his father's identity.

Online Resources

http://itc.gsu.edu/NewberyBooks/BudNotBuddy.pdf

A site of excellent teaching activities created by Georgia State University Early Childhood Education students

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/1900-75/depressn/labnews2.html

The Michigan Historical Society's Web site provides information about the Great Depression experience in Michigan.

http://history.searchbeat.com/greatdepression.htm

Searchbeat is a one-stop Web guide to an amazing list of sites related to The Great Depression.

http://itc.gsu.edu/NewberyBooks/BudNotBuddy.pdf Teaching activities created by Georgia State University Early Childhood Education students

http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/1900-75/depressn/labnews2.html The Michigan Historical Society's page about the Depression in Michigan

http://history.searchbeat.com/greatdepression.htm SearchBeat, the one-stop web guide has compiled an amazing list of Depression-related sites to search for info on places, people, culture, and more.

http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/budnotbuddy.html This website offers many teaching ideas in connection to Bud, Not Buddy, offers historical context of the novel, and gives other helpful links in reference to the b4teens_book.

Related Texts

Curtis, Christopher Paul. (1996). The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963. (1996). New York: Delacorte Press, 210 pp. This is a Newbery Honor book written by the same author as Bud, Not Buddy.

Spinelli, Jerry. (1990). Maniac Magee. Boston: Little Brown & Company. 184pp. At first, no one in Two Mills knows where Maniac Magee came from or why he is there, but his kind heart and noble deeds soon captivate the entire town. In turn, Maniac finds the home he has been looking for all along.

Creech, Sharon. (1996). Walk Two Moons. New York: HarperCollins. 280pp. Thirteen-year-old Salamanca entertains her grandparents with elaborate, and sometimes poignant, tales as they search for her estranged mother on a cross-country trip.

Farmer, Nancy. (1996). A Girl Named Disaster. New York: Orchard Books. 309pp. Set in modern times, Farmer's classic young-adult novel portrays an orphaned Shona girl named Nhamo who flees her village to escape marriage to a cruel man.

Hesse, Karen. (1997). Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic. 227pp. A poetic look at childhood in the great depression, Out of the Dust is written in stanza form from the point of view of a 14-year-old girl named Billie Joe.

Hacker, Carlotta. (1997). Great African Americans in Jazz. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company. 64pp. Candid, full-color photos accompany fascinating biographical accounts in this celebration of thirteen distinguished jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and Bessie Smith are among those featured.

Raschka, Christopher. (1992). Charlie Parker Played Be Bop. New York: Orchard Books. 32pp. Scat-like wordplay and vibrant images collide in this picture book for all ages.

Hughes, Langston. (1994). "Mother to Son". Collected Poems. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 708pp. A mother's insightful, poignant advice to her son about the hardships of life.

Fox, Paula. (1991). Monkey Island. New York: Orchard Books, 151 pp. An eleven-year old boy is abandoned in New York City by his mother after his father deserts them.

Teaching Ideas

(1) Before the unit, create a Bud, Not Buddy bulletin board and table display. The table display should consist of objects related to the novel, such as a tattered suitcase, jazz music posters, a CD player and jazz music, pictures from the 20s & 30s, a train, musical instruments, or any thing else you can think of. Set up times for students to visit the displays and have them make a list of the objects they find. When everyone's had a chance to explore the display, students will act like detectives and write a report of what they found there.

(2) Throughout the book, you can find "Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself." How did Bud come up with his rules? Do your students have any rules for their life? Ask students to start their own "Rules for Life" list.

(3) Bud refers to John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson. Who were these criminals? Students will pick one of these three notorious criminals and use the Internet to find out facts about his life. After summarizing what they find into a short news report that Bud might have heard on the radio, students can record their"report" into a tape recorder. Remind students of the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a good news report.

(4) "Discuss the Power of Lies and Exaggerations"

Students choose a picture from a magazine of a person, place, animal, or activity provided by the teacher.

Teacher introduces the idea of exaggeration by telling a personal anecdote,"Let me tell you something that happened to me." Teacher must make the anecdote wildly unbelievable then tell the students the true story.

Students form small groups and create an exaggerated story using the magazine pictures as a starting point. The story is written by the whole group, using adjectives, descriptions, and details to make the story wild and exaggerated.

Groups present their stories to the class.

[Adapted from "Lies, Fibs, and Exaggerations" by Edie Leitner in NotesPlus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. December 1997, p.4]

(5) "Rules of Survival" Bud has a list of things to remember in order to survive. He calls his list,"Rules and Things to Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar Out of You."

Students look at rules and decide which of them proves to helpful to Bud. Write them down.

Students make their own list of rules for survival.

Students share rules with the class.

[Adapted from "Discussions and Activities" on the Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site at http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/budnotbuddy.html]

(6) "Radio Broadcast: An Internet Activity" Bud refers to John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson. Who were these criminals? Pick one of these three notorious criminals and read about his life. Summarize the information into a short news report that Bud might have heard on the radio. Use the web pages to locate basic information about your criminal. Remember the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a good news report. When recording your audio, read slowly, clearly, and don't get too close to the microphone.

(7) "Telegram" Create an idea web about"communication" is. Discuss what a telegram is, and show examples (contact Western Union). Give each student a sample ad for telegram services. Have students create their own ad for telegram services. They could also experiment writing their own telegrams. Cost per word will encourage them to be economical in their own telegram. (Integrated math)

(Review written by Sara Ballon and Camille Cox & edited by Michelle Thomas)