Bud, Not Buddy

Module 3, SLIS 5420

Summary

Bud is living in an orphanage after the death of his mother. He has never known his father. He keeps his possessions in a battered old suitcase. Among his favorite things are some old flyers for concert appearances featuring Herman E. Calloway. Bud believes that Calloway must be his father because of the way his mother used to look at the flyers. When his latest foster home situation results in abuse, he runs away, determined to find his father. He has adventures in trying to get to Grand Rapids, where he hopes to find Calloway. His attempt to hop a train fail, but he meets some interesting people along the way. Next he tries to walk there, but is brought back to Flint by a well-meaning man named Lefty. Eventually, Bud is taken straight to Herman E. Calloway by Lefty. Calloway and his fellow musicians are very surprised by Bud's story. Calloway denies being Bud's father and is very skeptical of his story and his aims. The rest of the band are more sympathetic and work to get him added to the group in return for his doing chores and learning to play an instrument. Among his other possessions, Bud had a collection of rocks labelled with the dates and places where they were found. The rocks had been important to his mother, so Bud treasured them as well. In his travels with the band, Bud discovers that Calloway collects rocks and labels them exactly like the ones he has in his collection. Thinking this is proof that Calloway is his father, Bud shows his collection to him. Calloway is distressed, thinking that Bud has stolen some of his collection. A photograph of his mother that Bud has kept is the final link to the puzzle of who he is...Bud is not Calloways son, but his grandson! Bud's mother was Calloway's missing daughter, who had run away to get married and never returned.

Bibliographic Information

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. Delacorte Press, 1999. ISBN: 0-385-32306-9

My Thoughts

I really liked the way the story is told through Bud's impressions. Some of the words he thinks are misspelled in a way that is completely believable in someone his age and from that time period. He also has some endearing superstitions that help to make his character believable, such as mistaking Lefty for a vampire because he is transporting blood to a hospital for an operation. In his journeys Bud visits the library to learn how to get from Flint to Grand Rapids. He has pleasant memories of the times he spent in the library with his mother, and indeed he is remembered there. This helps the reader think of the library as a good place. Bud also visits a soup kitchen and we learn interesting details about how they operate and how important they were to starving people during the Great Depression. Bud also visits a shantytown in an attempt to hop a train to go west. There, the reader learns details about how the poor would band together and help one another out in those tough times. There, Bud also experiences his first kiss. Another detail that I found interesting was the information regarding Calloway's band. Bud describes each one in detail, along with their colorful nicknames, indeed he receives one of his own, helping to cement his relationship and a member of the group. Another interesting point is that Calloway keeps a token white person in the band in whose name real estate is kept, as blacks are not permitted to own real estate in some areas of the city! Bud delights in hearing them play for the first time and longs to join them in making such beautiful music. He has found a home. The reader rejoices with him as he discovers that this is where he truly belongs now.

Reviews

Curtis's magical touch in his debut novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 (Delacorte, 1995), is once again evident in all its powerful, funny glory in his latest lovely novel. Ten-year-old Bud Caldwell, wise beyond his years, is hit particularly hard by the Depression in 1936. Bud has been bounced back and forth between a Flint, Michigan, orphanage and foster care since his mother died when he was six. Fed up with beatings from those who take him in, Bud grabs his few meager treasures and sets out in search of his father. With determination and a cautious but curious spirit, Bud heads for Grand Rapids, home of Herman E. Calloway, legendary bass player and leader of a renowned jazz band. Convinced that Calloway is his long-lost father, Bud seeks a reunion. Bud's only guidebook is Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar out of Yourself, his own set of poignant, riotous tips for preserving sanity. In a scene of stunning hilarity, Bud is rescued by Lefty Lewis, who takes Bud to Grand Rapids, where the child learns yet again that life is not always what it seems. Curtis writes with a razor-sharp intelligence that grabs the reader by the heart and never lets go. His utterly believable depiction of the self-reliant charm and courage of Bud, not Buddy, puts this highly-recommended title at the top of the list of books to be read again and again.
Andersen, Beth E. Voice of Youth Advocates. February 1, 2000.

Gr 4-7-When 10-year-old Bud Caldwell runs away from his new foster home, he realizes he has nowhere to go but to search for the father he has never known: a legendary jazz musician advertised on some old posters his deceased mother had kept. A friendly stranger picks him up on the road in the middle of the night and deposits him in Grand Rapids, MI, with Herman E. Calloway and his jazz band, but the man Bud was convinced was his father turns out to be old, cold, and cantankerous. Luckily, the band members are more welcoming; they take him in, put him to work, and begin to teach him to play an instrument. In a Victorian ending, Bud uses the rocks he has treasured from his childhood to prove his surprising relationship with Mr. Calloway. The lively humor contrasts with the grim details of the Depression-era setting and the particular difficulties faced by African Americans at that time. Bud is a plucky, engaging protagonist. Other characters are exaggerations: the good ones (the librarian and Pullman car porter who help him on his journey and the band members who embrace him) are totally open and supportive, while the villainous foster family finds particularly imaginative ways to torture their charge. However, readers will be so caught up in the adventure that they won't mind. Curtis has given a fresh, new look to a traditional orphan-finds-a-home story that would be a crackerjack read-aloud.
Isaacs, Kathleen. School Library Journal. September 1, 1999.

Awards

ALA Notable Children's Books
Coretta Scott King Award
Grand Canyon Reader Award, Arizona
International Reading Association Children's Book Award
Land of Enchantment Book Award, New Mexico
Mitten Award, Michigan
Nene Award, Hawaii
New York Times Notable Books
Newbery Medal
Parents' Choice Awards
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards
Prairie Pasque Children's Book Award, South Dakota
School Library Journal Best Books
William Allen White Children's Book Award, Kansas
Young Reader's Choice Award, Pacific Northwest

Suggestions for Use in Library

This is a good choice for learning about the history of poor people in the Great Depression. It could be read aloud along with questions about the content that might ask for comparisons with the plight of the homeless today. It is also a good subject for discussing the powerlessness of children caught up in the orphanage/foster care system.