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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Excellent in every way, and you can kiss my wrist if you don't agree.
10 angry hornets out of 10.
I love that I have a job where I get to read this wonderful book year after year. It NEVER gets old!
10 angry hornets out of 10.
I love that I have a job where I get to read this wonderful book year after year. It NEVER gets old!
I heard the first part of this book being read in my daughter's classroom and was so pulled in, I had to finish it myself. Bud is a 10-year-old orphan who grew up in Flint, Michigan. The book takes place in 1936, which is about 4 years after his mom's death. He is placed in foster care with his third family and decides to run away after he is bullied by the family's son. In his suitcase are mementos left to him by his mother and he uses these clues to find who he believes is his father. Without giving away spoilers, this story is about Bud finding his forever home and his place in this world. I was very much moved by the ending and am not surprised it is a Newberry Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winner.
This has been on almost every recommended reading list for my kids for years. But all I saw was a story about an orphaned Black boy during the Great Depression, and thought it would be horribly sad. glad I caved. It was a sweet story and I giggled a lot.
Genre: Historical fiction Reading level: Ages 9-12
A young boy decides to run away from his foster home and travel across country in search of a man he believes to be his father. His only knowledge of this elusive figure lies in his most precious possessions, a handful of flyers that his mother held dear featuring a musician in a series of jazz bands. Bud uses his wit, humor, and his “Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself”. Food and jobs may be hard to come by in this time of depression, but help abounds for this young man on his own. When he plucked from danger and dropped into the arms of the very man he seeks, he stands to gain the most precious gift of all. This book has won many awards, including prestigious Newbery. The grim reality of Bud’s situation is tempered by the humor and hopefulness depicted in Curtis’ witty style. One can’t help liking clever Bud and admiring his tenaciousness in following his dream.
Other historical fiction set in the depression era:
The Babe & I, David. A. Adler (picture book for ages 5-9)
Dust for dinner, Ann Warren Turner (easy reader for ages 8-10)
Macaroni boy, Katherine Ayres (chapter book for ages 8-12)
A young boy decides to run away from his foster home and travel across country in search of a man he believes to be his father. His only knowledge of this elusive figure lies in his most precious possessions, a handful of flyers that his mother held dear featuring a musician in a series of jazz bands. Bud uses his wit, humor, and his “Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself”. Food and jobs may be hard to come by in this time of depression, but help abounds for this young man on his own. When he plucked from danger and dropped into the arms of the very man he seeks, he stands to gain the most precious gift of all. This book has won many awards, including prestigious Newbery. The grim reality of Bud’s situation is tempered by the humor and hopefulness depicted in Curtis’ witty style. One can’t help liking clever Bud and admiring his tenaciousness in following his dream.
Other historical fiction set in the depression era:
The Babe & I, David. A. Adler (picture book for ages 5-9)
Dust for dinner, Ann Warren Turner (easy reader for ages 8-10)
Macaroni boy, Katherine Ayres (chapter book for ages 8-12)
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Bud is fed up with foster families. He’s on the run from yet one more mean foster family, but this time he doesn’t plan on returning to the orphanage. His mother died when he was 6 and he plans to try to find his father. Bud (don’t call him Buddy) knows how to survive. He even has a strategy he calls: “Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.”
Story of Bud, who is an orphan about to get farmed out to another foster home. A beat down by the boy of the house gets Bud sent to the shed. He escapes and decides to try to find the father that his mother never talked about. Bud travels to find a famous musician with a chip on his shoulder.
Set during the depression. A look at what it was like to be a black person in the north and middle of the country.
Good story for 4 through 6th graders.
Set during the depression. A look at what it was like to be a black person in the north and middle of the country.
Good story for 4 through 6th graders.
A wonderful historical fiction book packed with so many important themes and lessons. I love Bud’s voice and point of view. My students love hearing his story. There are parts that the plot is a bit slow for my personal taste. But I love the plot twist and ending.
I am a teacher and I read this book for work along with some of my 6th grade students. I was unsure, based on the beginning of this book, if I would like it. I ended up loving it so much. It was completely worth the read. I would recommend it to anyone. There are a lot of great themes in this book that a student can work with. There was satisfaction in the ending, but it was left open ended so there is a lot of potential for students to infer and think about what might happen.