Bud, Not Buddy

PLOT SUMMARY: I read the book Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. This book is about a boy named Bud Caldwell. Bud's mother died when he was very young, so now Bud lives in an orphanage. Bud has never met his father and he would love to meet him. His mother had given him a flier and he thought the fiddler on the flier was his father, but he did not know that for sure. One morning at the orphanage Bud gets sent away from his orphanage to a real family named the Amos'. Bud is afraid that the 12 year old son named Todd Amos will be mean to him, and he is right. One day Todd even sticks a pencil up Bud's nose. Bud tries to fight back as the parents come into his room and but Todd makes it look like he did not do anything wrong, so Bud gets into trouble and the next night Bud is forced to sleep in the dark and scary shed. That night Bud decides to run away to try to find his father. Bud believes that his father's name is Herman E. Calloway and he lives in the Grand Rapids because that is what it says on the flier. Bud is in Flint, Michigan and that is a couple of town over. He figures it would take about 24 hours to reach the Grand Rapids on foot, so he starts walking. While Bud was on his journey, at about 2:00 AM a man saw Bud and pulled over his car. Bud hid from the man because he was afraid to be seen and then get sent back to the orphanage. The man called to Bud and instead, he took Bud back to his house where Bud stays for a few days. After 2 or 3 days with the man and his family, the man takes Bud to Grand Rapids, because he said that is where his father lives.

Bud finally meets Herman E. Calloway, the man he thinks is his father. It turns out that they are related, but Herman E. Calloway is actually an 80 year old man and he is Bud's grandfather. He is the father of Bud's mother. Herman E. Calloway is not a very pleasant man and in some way, Bud is relieved that he is not his father, although he is happy to have found a true family member. Herman E. Calloway is also a musician. He is the lead musician in a band. Bud ends up living with Herman E. Calloway and his band at Calloway Station. One of the band members gives Bud a saxophone as a gift and Bud really enjoys playing the saxophone. It becomes one of his favorite things to do. At home, Herman E. Calloway is interested in hearing about what happened to Bud's mother, his daughter, because she ran away many years ago and he never knew of her fate. Bud had to tell his grandfather that his mother had died and Herman E. Calloway was very saddened by that news.

CHARACTERS: The main character in my book is Bud. Bud is a 10 year old African American orphan. He is very nice and polite. Many of the band members were surprised at how good Bud's manners are. I think that Bud is a very brave for walking all the way to the Grand Rapids at night. I would not be comfortable doing that

YOUR THOUGHTS: I thought that this book was great. I would recommend this book to anybody, and I think that you would enjoy it as much as I did.

7 READING STRATEGIES: One of the 7 reading strategies that I used is inferring. I infered that Bud would find Herman E. Calloway. When Bud found out Herman E. Calloway was an old man I also predicted that Herman E. Calloway was Bud's grandfather

AUTHOR INFORMATION: The author of Bud, Not Buddy is Christopher Paul Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy won the Coretta Scott King Award, given each year to a black writer for an inspirational and educational contribution to literature and the Newberry Metal, the most prestigious award in children's literature.