Bud, Not Buddy
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| Bud, Not Buddy | |
| Author | Christopher Paul Curtis |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel, Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Delacorte Books for Young Readers |
| Publication date | 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 245 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-385-32306-9 |
Bud, Not Buddy is a 1999 children's novel by Christopher Paul Curtis. The book is the winner of the 2000 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award that is given in recognition of outstanding African-American authors.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
In Great Depression during the 1930s, 10-year-old Bud Caldwell lives in the orphanage in Flint, Michigan that has been his home since the death of his mother several years earlier. He hates the orphanage but his situation doesn't improve when he is sent to live with a foster family, the Amoses, who prove to be abusive. After escaping the old shed he was locked in, Bud goes back to the house and gathers his things.
Bud runs away from the foster[1] family and runs into a familiar friend "Bugs". They both decide to go to Chicago, and encounter food and shelter at a local Hooverville. There, Bud meets his crush: Deza Malone. Bud and Bugs try to catch the train to Chicago but run into police waiting to stop them, causing Bud to be left behind. Bud decides to set off in search of his father. The journey will be difficult because he doesn't know who the man is. His only clue is a flyer advertising a jazz band that was left in his suitcase by Angel Janet Caldwell, Bud's mother, before her death. Bud aims for Grand Rapids, Michigan, convinced that the leader of the band, "Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression" is the man he's looking for.
During his journey, he encounters several Good Samaritans, as well as experiencing racism. The author has reported that two of the characters in the novel, Herman Calloway and Lefty Lewis, are based upon his own grandparents. Important themes in the novel are the resilience of ordinary people, particularly within the Black community, in the face of the dehumanizing effects of the Depression, and the capacity of Jazz to provide its musicians with community and self respect.
[edit] Characters
- Bud Caldwell - A ten-year-old African American orphan boy. His mother is dead, and he is desperate to locate his real father.
- Lefty Lewis - A kind man that picks Bud up and takes him to Grand Rapids. He treats Bud with kindness and compassion.
- Herman E. Calloway - A jazz band leader whom Bud originally mistakes as his father. He is in fact Bud's grandfather, as they later discover.
- "Steady" Eddie Patrick - The saxophone player of Herman's band, and who gives Bud his first saxophone.
- Doug "The Thug" Tennant - The drummer of the band.
- Chug "Doo-Doo Bug" Cross - The trombone player of the band.
- Mr. Jimmy Wesley - The trumpet player of the band.
- Roy "Dirty Deed" Breed - The white piano player and frontman of the band.
- Ms. Thomas - A very nice lady who believes Bud.
- Angela Caldwell - Bud's late mother and Herman's late daughter.
- Bugs - Bud's Best Friend and "brother"; he traveled with Bud until they tried to jump on a train. Bugs got on, but Bud couldn't. He is called Bugs because a cockroach once crawled in his ear.
- Todd Amos - A very spoiled boy whom at first sticks a Ticonderoga pencil in Bud's nose up to the "R" and has asthma. and bud started bleeding.
- Mr. Amos - Bud's mean foster father.
- Mrs. Amos - Bud's mean foster mother.
- Deza Malone- a little girl who gave Bud his "first kiss"
| Preceded by Holes |
Newbery Medal recipient 2000 |
Succeeded by A Year Down Yonder |
[edit] Sources, References, External links, Quotations
[edit] References
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