Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Curtis

Bud, Not Buddy, 2000 Newbery Award winner is set during the Depression era in and around Flint, Michigan. The book falls into the genre of historical fiction due to its ties to the Depression and implications of the Civil Rights Movement. Young Bud was orphaned at age six, and the adventures he endures and shares with peers and new friends (young and old) compel the reader to want to jump into the pages and befriend him. Bud quickly acquires resourcefulness in his independent quest to search for his long-lost father, and along the way his charm and "guts" involve him in some unique situations: a short stay at a foster home with a mean-spirited bully spoiled by his mother, a few visits to a mission for free meals, a few nights sleeping under a tree near the library, a late-night walk along a road where Bud is picked up by a man in a car with a container of blood in the front seat, a visit to Hooverville and a chance to ride the rails with a pal to Chicago, and finally meeting some exceptional caring friends who are members of Herman E. Calloway's band. These events and situations shape Bud's appreciation and thankfulness in finding his home in an unlikely place. His journey to Grand Calloway Station taught him persistance and resourcefulness, but the reader is surprised to realize that the members of Herman E . Calloway's band and Callowy himself seem to learn valuable lessons of acceptance and nurturing through taking Bud into their fold. The book suggests several subplots that could be explored in greater depth through mini-research projects about jazz, picketing relating to Civil Rights, President Hoover's initiatives, and the Depression era characteristics. I was surprised toward the end of the book when Bud learns that Herman E . Calloway is his grandfather instead of his father. The story seemed to evolve and "come together" at this juncture of the story as the reader could tie in the character of Bud's mother more clearly at this point. This book is a captivating work with which middle school readers can relate and question their own values and resourcefulness while learning about essential characteristics of the Depression era.