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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Re-read this book because I’m teaching it next quarter and it’s been a hot minute since I read it! It’s just as heart-warming and humorous as I remembered!
Bud's mom passes away and he is put in an orphanage. He escapes weh he is 10 in order to find his father. b/c his mom had flyers for a band leader Herman E. Calloway, he assumed that's his dad. Alon ghe way we learn about being african american during the depression. Funny, Touching, Lovely. Highly recommend. Audio is read by james AVery (the dad on Fresh prince - excellent!)
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Good book, can be funny at times especially with the way Bud talks and all his rules. Easy to read and hard to put down.
This was my second Christopher Paul Curtis book, and I am officially a fan now.
Set in Michigan during the Great Depression, Bud, Not Buddy, is an endearing story of an orphan in search of his father four years after the death of his mother. Although Bud has never heard his mother speak the name of his father, he carries a suitcase containing some clues everywhere he goes.
And the places he goes are as entertaining and funny as they are dangerous and adventurous.
Early in the story, Bud finds himself placed with a foster family, and on the very first night in his new home, it comes to fisticuffs when he is awakened by the 12-year-old boy in the home who has stuck a Ticonderoga pencil up Bud's nose "all the way to the R." As Bud defends himself, the mom walks in and discovers the fight and Bud is assigned all of the blame.
And so Bud finds himself taken to the woodshed, literally, where he is locked inside to spend the night with a promise to return him to the orphanage at first light. During the night, he manages to bust up a hornet's nest, is stung repeatedly, and has to escape out the window of the shed.
He gets his revenge on the family before he hits the road, however. I appreciate that Bud never loses his sense of humor, in spite of his bad luck.
Later, he reunites with a friend from the orphanage, and a hilarious story is included about a roach that once climbed inside his friend's ear while he was sleeping:
"Four grown folks had held Bugs down whilst they tried to pull it out with a pair of tweezers but the only thing that that did was pull the roach's back legs off. When they were digging around in Bugs's ears with the tweezers you'd've thought they were pulling his legs off, not some cockroach's, I'd never heard a kid scream that loud.
After about 15 minutes of Bugs screaming the joint down they said they were going to have to take him to the emergency room to get the roach out. It was almost morning when Bugs got back. Everyone was asleep except me.
I waited until they put him in his bed and turned off the lights.
I said, 'Did they get it out?'
He said, 'Oh, hi, Bud. Yeah, they got him.'
'Did it hurt a lot?'
'Nope.'
'Were you scared?'
'Nope.'
'Then how come you were screaming so doggone loud?'
He said, 'I didn't know I was, I probably couldn't hear me screaming 'cause that roach was so loud.'
I'd seen lots of roaches but I'd never heard one of them make any sound. I said, 'Loud how?'
'Well, bugs ain't so different from us as you'd think, soon as he saw those tweezers coming at him he was pretty terrified and commenced to screaming, screaming in English too, not some bug language like you'd expect from a roach.'
'Yeah? What'd he say?'
'All he kept yelling was, 'My legs! My legs! Why have they done this to my legs?'
That's the true story about how Bugs started getting called Bugs."
It wasn't long after the roach story that Bud is separated from Bugs, but thus begins his final adventure to find his father, using the clues that his mother has left behind. Bud is an interesting and inspirational personality, and without spoiling the ending, he does eventually find his journey to be worthwhile.
Author Christopher Paul Curtis's humor will appeal to all readers, and although I'm late to the game in discovering his books, I look forward to reading many more of his titles.
Set in Michigan during the Great Depression, Bud, Not Buddy, is an endearing story of an orphan in search of his father four years after the death of his mother. Although Bud has never heard his mother speak the name of his father, he carries a suitcase containing some clues everywhere he goes.
And the places he goes are as entertaining and funny as they are dangerous and adventurous.
Early in the story, Bud finds himself placed with a foster family, and on the very first night in his new home, it comes to fisticuffs when he is awakened by the 12-year-old boy in the home who has stuck a Ticonderoga pencil up Bud's nose "all the way to the R." As Bud defends himself, the mom walks in and discovers the fight and Bud is assigned all of the blame.
And so Bud finds himself taken to the woodshed, literally, where he is locked inside to spend the night with a promise to return him to the orphanage at first light. During the night, he manages to bust up a hornet's nest, is stung repeatedly, and has to escape out the window of the shed.
He gets his revenge on the family before he hits the road, however. I appreciate that Bud never loses his sense of humor, in spite of his bad luck.
Later, he reunites with a friend from the orphanage, and a hilarious story is included about a roach that once climbed inside his friend's ear while he was sleeping:
"Four grown folks had held Bugs down whilst they tried to pull it out with a pair of tweezers but the only thing that that did was pull the roach's back legs off. When they were digging around in Bugs's ears with the tweezers you'd've thought they were pulling his legs off, not some cockroach's, I'd never heard a kid scream that loud.
After about 15 minutes of Bugs screaming the joint down they said they were going to have to take him to the emergency room to get the roach out. It was almost morning when Bugs got back. Everyone was asleep except me.
I waited until they put him in his bed and turned off the lights.
I said, 'Did they get it out?'
He said, 'Oh, hi, Bud. Yeah, they got him.'
'Did it hurt a lot?'
'Nope.'
'Were you scared?'
'Nope.'
'Then how come you were screaming so doggone loud?'
He said, 'I didn't know I was, I probably couldn't hear me screaming 'cause that roach was so loud.'
I'd seen lots of roaches but I'd never heard one of them make any sound. I said, 'Loud how?'
'Well, bugs ain't so different from us as you'd think, soon as he saw those tweezers coming at him he was pretty terrified and commenced to screaming, screaming in English too, not some bug language like you'd expect from a roach.'
'Yeah? What'd he say?'
'All he kept yelling was, 'My legs! My legs! Why have they done this to my legs?'
That's the true story about how Bugs started getting called Bugs."
It wasn't long after the roach story that Bud is separated from Bugs, but thus begins his final adventure to find his father, using the clues that his mother has left behind. Bud is an interesting and inspirational personality, and without spoiling the ending, he does eventually find his journey to be worthwhile.
Author Christopher Paul Curtis's humor will appeal to all readers, and although I'm late to the game in discovering his books, I look forward to reading many more of his titles.
Had no clue about the context of the story. This story bridges generations!
Rereading my favorite historical fiction for my upcoming Civil Rights unit. Feel in love with Bud all over again!
This book is hilarious. We read it as a family read aloud and I enjoyed it just as much as my kids did. I can't believe I've never read it before. The characters are great. The plot is interesting and the humor is spot on. Great historical fiction for elementary kids. It gives you an insight on the Great Depression without being too graphic, serious, or depressing.
The story of a 10-year-old boy with a big imagination and even bigger heart who is searching for family during the Great Depression. The audio narrator is fantastic!
#blacklivesmatter
#blacklivesmatter