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Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Christopher Paul Curtis did it again! In writing this 2000 Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King award-winning book, he wove another magical, enchanting, complex, well crafted and spell binding tale filled with poignancy, sadness and laughter while teaching history in a captivating way.
I've raved about this author before, so please indulge my obsession one more time in encouraging you to take a few hours of solitude to savor every word, phrase and nuance of this incredible writer.
What's in a name? The answer is a tremendous asset and sole identity to Bud, NOT Buddy! As a ten year old orphan in 1936 hard-hit depression filled Flint, Michigan, Bud has little else. Four years ago his beloved mother died, leaving him is name and a few possessions he guards with his life.
The sum total of his existence is held in a raggle taggle suitcase he lugs from one orphanage or foster home to another. The string-bound cardboard container holds some rocks with dates painted upon them, a photo of his mama as a child riding a pony, and a few fliers listing a jazz group led by Herman E. Calloway.
When the last foster home experience culminated in a beating and fearful night of imprisonment in a back yard shack, Buddy knows he has had enough! Believing that his mother kept the fliers for a reason and that his unknown father must be Herman E. Calloway, Buddy runs away from Flint to Grand Rapids, seeking love and a home to call his own.
Christopher Paul Curtis masterfully writes about such complex issues as homelessness, poverty, racism, cruelty and poverty.
Living in a cardboard Hooverville community for a few days, Bud meets likable, down and out characters. Finally reaching his destination and claiming his identity to the great jazz artist Mr. Calloway and The Dusky Devastators of the Depression, leads to unexpected discoveries for all with quite a surprising ending.
I loved this book! I loved the spunky, determination of Bud, the complexity of the characters, the historical backdrop of the jazz age and the skillful depiction of a bleak period of time in American history.
Five Stars!!!!
I've raved about this author before, so please indulge my obsession one more time in encouraging you to take a few hours of solitude to savor every word, phrase and nuance of this incredible writer.
What's in a name? The answer is a tremendous asset and sole identity to Bud, NOT Buddy! As a ten year old orphan in 1936 hard-hit depression filled Flint, Michigan, Bud has little else. Four years ago his beloved mother died, leaving him is name and a few possessions he guards with his life.
The sum total of his existence is held in a raggle taggle suitcase he lugs from one orphanage or foster home to another. The string-bound cardboard container holds some rocks with dates painted upon them, a photo of his mama as a child riding a pony, and a few fliers listing a jazz group led by Herman E. Calloway.
When the last foster home experience culminated in a beating and fearful night of imprisonment in a back yard shack, Buddy knows he has had enough! Believing that his mother kept the fliers for a reason and that his unknown father must be Herman E. Calloway, Buddy runs away from Flint to Grand Rapids, seeking love and a home to call his own.
Christopher Paul Curtis masterfully writes about such complex issues as homelessness, poverty, racism, cruelty and poverty.
Living in a cardboard Hooverville community for a few days, Bud meets likable, down and out characters. Finally reaching his destination and claiming his identity to the great jazz artist Mr. Calloway and The Dusky Devastators of the Depression, leads to unexpected discoveries for all with quite a surprising ending.
I loved this book! I loved the spunky, determination of Bud, the complexity of the characters, the historical backdrop of the jazz age and the skillful depiction of a bleak period of time in American history.
Five Stars!!!!
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