Bud, Not Buddy

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Summary: I LOVED THIS BOOK . . . even though I was forced to read it
Review: WHen ym fifth grade teacher, angry at me for not handing in my book report, she insisted that I read another book and do ANOTHER book report . . . and pushed BUd, Not Buddy into my hands. When I sullenly sat down at my desk to read it . . . I didn't stop, not even for lunhc. I might not have stopped to go home, but I was finished by that time.
Bud, Not Buddy tells the story of a "wiry, not skinny' 10 year old black orphan, Bud (not Buddy) Caldwell in Michigan in the 1930s, the midst of the Great Depression. When his orphanage 'the Home' put him in an abusive foster home, after one night Bud goes 'on the lam' with his friend Bugs, from Flint to the city of Grand Rapids to find the man he believes is his father, due to his deceased mother's actions while she was alive. When Bugs makes it on the train to Chicago and Bud doesn't, he watches the policemen destroy the Flint Hooverville before continuing on his way. He decides he's just going to have to walk to Grand Rapids, and at the library, after some assistance from a kind librarian, finds out how long it would take him to walk to Grand Rapids from Flint (24 hours). He sets out, and as he comes to his first city, Owosso, he meets up with Mr. 'Lefty' Lewis who, after some fierce interrogating and a minor incident with the car, in which Bud tried to hijack it out of fear, offers Bud a ride. When Bud finally gets to Grand Rapids, he discovers the musician he thought was his father was 'a mean old coot with a big belly' and not his father. When the other members of the band find out about Bud, they invite him to join and a few days later, Bud finds out that herman E. Calloway is not his father . . . but close.

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Summary: Bud, Not Buddy
Review: Bud, Not Buddy is an award-winning book written by Christopher Paul Curtis that takes place during the Great Depression. This was a period of history when the overall world economy was suffering. The main character in this story is Bud Caldwell, a ten-year-old orphan, who is transferred out of the Home (i.e., orphanage) to live with a foster family, the Amoses. After a short while, Bud finds it hard to get along with them. Therefore, he decides to leave the Amoses and go in search of a well-known musician, Herman E. Calloway, whom Bud believes is his father. That is when he stumbles upon a great discovery.
This is a book that is worth reading because the author makes the plot very unpredictable. For example, when Bud is in the Amos¡¦s shed, he finds what he thinks is a vampire bat. Because he does not want to get his blood sucked, he uses his jackknife to slice the creature. This fools the reader into thinking that Bud has just slaughtered an innocent animal. In reality, Bud has not killed a bat¡Xhe has cut off part of a hornets¡¦ nest and aggravated those living within. In addition, the author also does an excellent job in giving Bud a distinct voice. He purposely uses some incorrect grammar and other diction so readers can actually hear Bud talking to them. The techniques that Curtis uses make this story seem realistic.
This is an excellent book with many interesting incidents, but my favorite part occurs near the end of the book, when Bud shows Herman E. Calloway his collection of rocks with the writing on them that his mother had given him, which matched those that he had. This is the most suspenseful episode because at this point, Herman looks ready to give Bud a beating because he thinks Bud stole them from him, and Bud appears ready to prove that Herman is really his father. When Bud insists that he had received them from his mother, Herman demands that Bud reveal his mother¡¦s name. When Bud says that her name is Angela Janet, Herman looks stunned. Soon, Bud finds out that Herman is really his grandfather on his mother¡¦s side of the family, not his long-lost father. I found this discovery very surprising because Bud¡¦s constant conviction that Herman was his father led me to believe that he was right. Bud¡¦s finding a relative makes the ending of this book satisfying.

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Summary: Bud, Not Buddy
Review: I like this book because thers a boy that is in a foster home and has an adventure meeting many people at his young age. I reccomend it to people of many ages. My teacher, Ms. Powell, really enjoyed it. I think you should read it! Bud is looking for his dad through fliers his mother gave him before she passed away. So read the book to find out what happens to Bud and I know you will enjoy it.

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Summary: Learning About History.
Review: BUD, NOT BUDDY is a story about a ten-year-old African-American boy living in Michigan during the time of the Great Depression. Bud's mother passed away when he was six and over the past several years he has lived from orphanage to foster home to orphanage to foster home. After being locked in an old shed on the land of his current foster family, Bud decides that it's time he ran away and went on the lam to look for his father. Bud has never met his father but has a pretty good idea who it might be, a famous bass player and band leader by the name of Herman E. Calloway. Bud sets out on a journey to meet Herman E. Calloway and along the way learns a great deal about the country that he never knew before.

BUD, NOT BUDDY is a great book for older elementary and middle school students to read. It touches upon all sorts of issues that are both historical (the Great Depression, Hoovervilles, hobos) and current (racism, KKK). The book is told from Bud's point of view, but is never condescending. Christopher Paul Curtis captures the feel and imagination of a child storyteller perfectly. A charming book to read, full of historical insight and youthful imagination.

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Summary: A Must Read!!
Review: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis is a thrilling piece of historical fiction about a 10-year-old motherless boy traveling on his own during the Great Depression. Running away from an abusive foster home, he is armed only with his "rules for survival" and his suitcase of memories.

As you travel with Bud on his journey of life, you will laugh, cry and worry with Bud. His memories of the past and his hope for finding his father in the near future provide him with the strength to press on.

This book gives you a small view of what life was like as a young African American boy alone in the Great Depression. It also provides you with a glimpse of the lives of jazz musicians during this time period.

The author paints a picture so vivid that you hear the voices, sounds, sights and smells of this period. Be prepared to become immersed in this era with Bud from start to finish. You will find yourself taking this book with you everywhere in hopes of having a minute to join Bud in his world. This is excellent reading for readers ages 10 - 100!

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Summary: this is a great book!
Review: When I was in fourth grade everyone had already read this book. I was stuck aloneand i didn't want to read it. Finnally in 5th grade I decided to read it. I completely regrete it that I didn't read it in fourth grade! It is a great book to learn from I thought the rules were funny that bud followed. The time in that part of history was horrible. If you read this book be sure that you knoww what time period it's from! it's just a great book that show how Budd survived back then.

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Summary: Boring!!!!
Review: This book was one of the most boring books I read in my whole life. i read it for my ESL class. This book just talks about history and not a lot of adventure. So thats what i think about it.

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Summary: Having a Funner Life & Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself
Review: This Newberry Award winning novel is about a very resourceful ten-year-old boy named Bud. His mother has been dead for four years, leaving Bud to be shuffled from foster home to orphanage to foster home. Among the things his mother left are some flyers advertising about Herman E. Calloway and his band. Bud is convinced that Herman is his father, and means to get himself from Flint, Michigan to Grand Rapids to meet Herman.

Bud is an intelligent, clever child. In the four years he has been an orphan he has learned a great deal of useful information about how to survive. Bud has a number of bits of wisdom he calls "Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself." These rules are insightful, often laugh-out-loud funny, and will remind many readers of what life is like as a child. Like all people, Bud has found himself in situations where he felt the need to hide the truth, giving rise to Rule Number Three: "If you got to tell a lie, make sure it's simple and easy to remember."

Bud, Not Buddy is sprinkled with details about the Great Depression. Bud waits in food lines, spends the night in a Hooverville, learns about the formation of Unions, and hears talk all around about how hard times are. These details are presented without a great deal of explanation, which could be confusing to the young reader. However, any possible befuddlement about the setting is redeemed many times over by the sheer fun of spending time with Bud.

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Summary: Bud,Not Buddy
Review: I think this book was a great book because christopher paul curtis gave lots of details to help you visialize whats happening to this little boy in the story. this story is about a little boy who had no parents. he lived in an organe then got let out to a home. the home he was in didn't like bud so they made him sleep in the shed.but since he live in the shed he ran a way from that family. at the end of the story was a big surpise . read the book to see how it was a surpise.i thought this book should get 5 stars because it was really good in all ways!!!! this is one book i think should get 5 stars!!!

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Summary: Just Voice
Review: (This reveiw is written in the voice of Bud.)
Hi! Bud Caldwell here. Bud, Not Buddy, tells the wonderful, adventurous story of my life. You will like the attitude of the characters. The characters act full of life, but others seem bad to the bone. You will also like my story, because you can relate to it. My mom died when I turned 6, and I lived in foster homes ever since. I perservere lots of times in my story, and I never give up trying to find my father. I carry only one thing on my search and thats a raggy old suitcase with memories inside it! This book will show the love of my family, and the adventurous to find one another.