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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
He's run away! He's written a list! He's looking for his father! It's jazz, it's travel, it's mystery, and - while we're on the subject - it's Megan, not Meg.
adventurous
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Read for a 5th grade class (10-11 yo) does have abuse and tough situations but the kids didn’t seem to be affected by that. I read half the book but listened to the rest on audible even tho I had to pay for it.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I picked this book up as part of a reading prompt challenge. I did not read too much into the synopsis of the story, just opened the book and started reading. Oh, what fun I had! This is a very emotionally-driven story, at least I thought so. There were times I wanted to reach into the pages and wrap Bud in a hug and give him a home. Then on the very next page I was laughing at how he found himself a temporary family in the food line (that is all I’m going to say about that scene!). Bud is a brave boy who was determined to find his family. Sometimes, they show up in surprising ways.
*What I have expressed are entirely my own thoughts. I was not compensated in any monetary way.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment
Foster Care
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While parts of this story were horrifying, I enjoyed mix of history and found family from a child's perspective. I loved seeing way Bud conceptualized his reality and how he kept finding good people along the way. The fact that he needed to find them made me want to spit nails, but I'm glad they were there.
Heartwarming and heartbreaking as well... Bud is so resilient and yet vulnerable. I just wanted to reach into the book and take care of him.
read this for a class and it's cute. loved the jazz music in the audio book :)
4.5
One of my husband's grandsons (the 5th grader) asked me if I'd read this book and when I said 'no' (I hadn't heard of it), he told me it was good. Well, if a boy, about to turn 11, takes the time to recommend a book to me, odds are I'm going to read it.
The voice of the 10-year-old, Bud (not Buddy), in this novel is irrepressible and the setting of Flint, Michigan, during the Depression comes to life with tons of details but not a one of them ponderous. While keeping its tone age-appropriate, there's no talking down to the reader or even the tying-up in a pretty bow of all the loose ends.
There's sadness (reality), of course, (one scene brought tears to my eyes, but that's from an adult's perspective) but most of it is just fun, and even funny. (There's one gross (to me) description of soda-backwash that I almost couldn't read, the kind of thing many boys seem to love.)
And though there's lots of heart to the story, there's no moralizing. As Bud says:
I'd learned that it was best to be asleep before Momma finished the story because if she got done and I was still awake, she'd always tell me what the story was about. I never told Momma, but that always ruint the fun of the story. Shucks, here I was thinking I was just hearing something funny about a fox or a dog and Momma spoilt it by telling me they were really lessons about not being greedy or wishing for things you couldn't have.
It was interesting to this adult to learn in the Afterword that two of the older characters were based on the author's grandfathers, one of whom pitched in the minors of the Negro Baseball Leagues, one of my interests.
One of my husband's grandsons (the 5th grader) asked me if I'd read this book and when I said 'no' (I hadn't heard of it), he told me it was good. Well, if a boy, about to turn 11, takes the time to recommend a book to me, odds are I'm going to read it.
The voice of the 10-year-old, Bud (not Buddy), in this novel is irrepressible and the setting of Flint, Michigan, during the Depression comes to life with tons of details but not a one of them ponderous. While keeping its tone age-appropriate, there's no talking down to the reader or even the tying-up in a pretty bow of all the loose ends.
There's sadness (reality), of course, (one scene brought tears to my eyes, but that's from an adult's perspective) but most of it is just fun, and even funny. (There's one gross (to me) description of soda-backwash that I almost couldn't read, the kind of thing many boys seem to love.)
And though there's lots of heart to the story, there's no moralizing. As Bud says:
I'd learned that it was best to be asleep before Momma finished the story because if she got done and I was still awake, she'd always tell me what the story was about. I never told Momma, but that always ruint the fun of the story. Shucks, here I was thinking I was just hearing something funny about a fox or a dog and Momma spoilt it by telling me they were really lessons about not being greedy or wishing for things you couldn't have.
It was interesting to this adult to learn in the Afterword that two of the older characters were based on the author's grandfathers, one of whom pitched in the minors of the Negro Baseball Leagues, one of my interests.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this aloud with my students. The characters' voices come through beautifully, and the way Curtis describes a child's imagination makes the story feel so real. Heartwarming, silly, humorous, devastating, thought-provoking... it checks a lot of boxes!
Highly recommend!
Highly recommend!