Bud, Not Buddy is a fiction book made by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Plot[]
The story opens with Bud being placed with a new foster family, the Amoses. Bud soon meets Todd Amos, their 12-year-old son, who teases him mercilessly and calls him Buddy. After a fight with Todd, Bud is forced to spend the night in the garden shed. In the shed, he mistakes a hornet nest for a vampire bat and hits the nest with a rake. This upsets the hornets and Bud gets stung. During his adrenaline rush, he breaks through the window of the shed.
After escaping the shed, Bud takes revenge on Todd by making him wet his bed by putting Todd's hand in warm water. He escapes and sleeps under a Christmas tree for the night. His friend Bugs wakes him up so they can go to the West.
Bud runs away with Bugs. They try to hop on a train, but Bud fails to make it and is left behind. Bud starts walking to go to Grand Rapids, Michigan. On the way, he meets Lefty Lewis, who gives him a ride in his car to Grand Rapids to find his father, as he calls him, Herman E. Calloway. He stays with Lefty for a short while, then leaves to find his father.
Bud later discovers that Herman E. Calloway is his grandfather when he meets the band. The band treats Bud with kindness, but Herman treats Bud with great animosity. Bud delivers the news that Bud's mom, Angela, is dead. This brings great grief to Herman.
The story ends with Bud receiving a horn from the band, and Bud thinks he will have a bright future. It also ends with Bud finding out that the dead girl's room that he sleeps in was his mother's room.
Characters[]
Main[]
- Bud Caldwell
- Herman E. Calloway
- Lefty Lewis
- Todd Amos
- Angela Janet Caldwell
Reviews[]
1.[]
You gotta love "Bud, Not Buddy"...or at least I did. It's a fun-loving tale. Just to follow Bud around in his adventures in Michigan feels real. I'm not saying I could actually relate given the time period but being from Michigan myself gave me something extra to think about. Not to give an spoilers but there's a certain amount of suspense to see if Bud's instincts, which leads him on his quest, pays off in the end. As with so many things in life and in this stories as well, the ending is not quite what we would expect, but no less gratifying.
I didn't give it five stars because although I thought it was a good story and I liked it a lot, I didn't think it earth-shattering or even groundbreaking...just a nice story from Mr. Christopher Paul Curtis. He came to the school that I was teaching at, Schulze Elementary School, shortly after he wrote "Bud, Not Buddy" and gave a cool presentation to the kids...nice guy and an inspiration to any aspiring author.
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