Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis 🟌🟌🟌🟌🟌

Life was tough in the Depression-era 1930’s, but it was even tougher if you were a 10-year-old African American orphan. Bud, Not Buddy is living in the Home, which has been his residence on and off again since his mother died when he was six years old. Bud has also lived with various foster families, and none have worked out for him. At the start of the novel, he is being sent to a new family and as usual it ends in a disaster. Bud’s dream is to find his real father who he believes to be a famous Michigan band leader called Herman E. Calloway. Among his mother’s possessions was a series of flyers advertising the bands performances. Bud knows his mother would not have kept the flyers if they didn’t mean something to her. After the latest terrible foster home experience Bud runs away and decides it time to go find his father. 

The thought of a 10-year-old child traveling alone for more than 100 miles with no supervision or resources sends chills down my back. I don’t think in today’s world the outcome would have been as positives as it was for Bud. Bud is clever and determined and with the help of some good Samaritans along the way he does find Herman E. Calloway. The ending is a surprise and leaves the reader with a warm feeling even if it’s not Bud’s dream. This is a book that I am recommending to my grandchildren and hopefully they will like it as much as I did.  

Published In: 1999
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Age Level: 10-11 Years
AR Level: 5.0
Pages: 288
Stars: 5
Awards: 2000 Newbery Medal Winner, Coretta Scott King Award