Bud, Not Buddy

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publication Date: 2002
Type of Book: Historical Fiction Novel

Bud, Not Buddy is a novel about a young boy named Bud. Bud is alone in the world with no family to call his own. His only possessions are the memorabilia of his mother that he carries around with him in his suitcase. Since Bud's mother died when he was 6 years old, he has been taking care of himself and living in and out of homes for children with no family. Bud is determined to find his father and thinks he knows just who it is. After a long tiresome journey to see his father, Bud and the rest of the people he meets at his final destination unravel a crazy truth. Bud's mother always told him that when one door closes another door opens. In the end of the story, Bud is very excited to see what this new open door will hold for him.

This story was not my favorite book I've read but it also wasn't the worst. As I was reading I felt so horrible for Bud because of his sad living situation. It breaks my heart to think that some children lived like that and that they still do today. I did like that the story had a happy ending and all of the questions you had along the way were finally answered. The text was interesting in some parts because it was written in slang terms. It was helpful that in the end of the book the author included an afterword that explained more about the story. It was neat how pictures were included as well. While reading you develop images in your mind of what the characters look like, so it is interesting to see how your mental images compare to the real thing.

I would recommend this book to upper elementary school students as a book the whole class reads. Since the story takes place in history many students may have a lot of questions. What would be helpful is that students either read chapters on their own or with groups and then come together to discuss what they read. This would provide students with an opportunity to discuss and further their understanding of the text.

Image References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud,_Not_Buddy