World History Quarter Book Project – Charis Ovwigho
General Information
Title of Book: Bud, Not Buddy
Genre of Literature: Historical Fiction
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright Date: 1999
Number of pages: 245
Settings: Flint, Michigan and Grand Rapids, Michigan
Main Characters:
Bud Caldwell: Bud Caldwell is the main character of the book. He is a ten year old orphan boy who is running away from the orphanage in search of his father whom he never met. Bud meets many challenges, as well as helpful people, as he travels from Flint, Michigan to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Herman E. Calloway: Herman E. Calloway is famous for his music, and he is in a band known as “The Dusky Devastators of the Depression” during this time. Bud suspects that Herman is his father. Herman is a grumpy old man who expects a lot out of people.
Lefty Lewis: Lefty Lewis meets Bud along the roadside. He feeds Bud and gives him a ride to Grand Rapids, where he claims his father lives. Lefty Lewis likes to crack jokes and make fun of people.
Angela Janet Caldwell: Angela is Bud’s mother who passed away when he was six. She has some type of history with Herman, which is revealed later in the book. She keeps many things related to him which Bud treasures.
Miss Thomas: Miss Thomas serves as a mother figure for Bud when he arrives in Grand Rapids. She is described as a beautiful lady and a very talented singer.
Book Summary/Point of View:
Summary:
Bud is an orphan whose mother died when he was only six years old. He spends about four years in and out of an orphanage during the Great Depression (around the 1930s). At his latest foster home, a boy named Todd Amos bullies him and gets Bud in trouble with Mr. and Mrs. Amos. After being put in a shed, Bud decides he must run away from the Amos family and the orphanage. Bud takes a few days to devise a plan to get him to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he believes his father lives. Bugs, another child from the orphanage, plans to run away with him. After staying overnight in a Hooverville, Bud, Bugs, and many others try to hop a train that would take them out of Flint. Bugs makes the train, but Bud is left behind. Bud decides to make his journey on foot and leaves at night. A man named Lefty Lewis sees him on the side of the road and plans on taking him to Grand Rapids where Bud claims his father lives. Upon arrival in Grand Rapids, Bud meets Herman E. Calloway, Miss Thomas, and the rest of the band. Herman doesn’t like him much, especially after Bud insists that he is his son, but the rest of the band takes him in. Herman realizes that Bud is actually his grandson after he’s been travelling with the band for a while. Bud becomes part of the band and plays the alto sax.
Point of View:
The book is told from the point of view of Bud. The story is influenced by this because he is only ten years old. The book reveals a lot of his thoughts which convey his learning from growing up as an orphan as well as the fact that his mind isn’t completely developed. The language used in the book is similar to how a child would talk and act.
Application Questions
5 points each – each answer should be a minimum of 50 words)
What is the most important event in the book? Why is it the most important? When does this event take place in the book?
The most important event in this book is when Herman realizes that Bud is his grandson. Herman collects rocks from everywhere he travels with the band and writes the date and location on them. He used to give them to his daughter as a souvenir, and he continued to collect them when she ran away. Bud inherited some of these rocks from his mother when she died, and when he shows them to Herman, he is in disbelief. Jimmy, one of the band members, explains to Bud, “Angela Janet is his daughters name. If what you’re saying is true, Lord help us all, it looks like Herman might be your grandfather” (Curtis 213). This event took place from pages 211-213.
Give a more detailed description of a character and their role in the book, and then compare them to someone you know personally today.
Miss Thomas was more than just a singer in the band. In the book, Miss Thomas becomes a mother figure for Bud when he arrives in Grand Rapids. She sees that he had to grow up pretty fast, and that he went through a lot to get to Grand Rapids. She reminds me of my mother because of how kind she is, and how she is so willing to help. The compassion she shows is similar to my mother’s. When Bud breaks down crying at the restaurant, Miss Thomas “pulled [Bud] out of [his] chair into her lap and wrapped her arms around [him]” (Curtis 173). Miss Thomas cleary demonstrates mother-like characteristics towards Bud. My mom did the same for me and my siblings when we were younger and upset. Miss Thomas later tells him, “I’ll see you in the morning, you get a good night’s sleep” (Curtis 178). Miss Thomas shows Bud that she cares for him, even though they haven’t known each other very long. My mother conveys the same care towards others.
Use two quotes from the book to show new things you have learned about this time period in history. Explain what each quote helped you to better know or understand – cite page numbers.
I have learned about Hoovervilles from this book. President Hoover made sure that each city had one to provide for struggling people. A man tells Bid that a Hooverville is “anyplace where they’re other folks in need of the same things that you are” (Curtis 67). I also learned about how people were affected by the Great Depression. Many people were in poverty and without food. Bud has to go to the mission for breakfast the morning after he runs away from his foster family and “there were still people lined up waiting. [He] started walking along the line. The end was a lot farther away than [he] thought. The line turned all the way around two corners, then crossed over one street before [he] saw the last person” (Curtis 46). I learned from this the vast amount of poverty in the United States during this time. There were many families lined up and children put into orphanages by their parents.
How might our world be different today if the historical events in your book had turned out differently?
Two historical events that greatly influenced this novel were the Great Depression and the hopping of trains. If the Great Depression had not happened, the United States may not have learned from the mistakes made. A woman at the home explains to Bud and another boy that “there’s a depression going on all over [the] country. People can’t find jobs and these are very, very difficult times for everybody” (Curtis 2). A depression may have happened in later years and it may have been worse. Many people in poverty were able to gain a more successful life after they traveled illegally by train. Hopping trains is illegal, so it was at times hard for people to do it successfully. A man tells the police officers who are trying to stop people from getting on the train, “This is the only train going west for the next month, you know we got families to feed and have got to be on it” (Curtis 82). If this event had not happened, more families may have suffered.
What are three life lessons that can be learned from this book – how does each apply to your
life?
Three life lessons that I could learn from this book are thankfulness, perseverance, and compassion. I have learned about thankfulness because it is obvious throughout the book that times are tough. It takes place during the Great Depression, and Bud lost his mother at a young age and grew up in an orphanage. I can always be a little more thankful that I didn’t have to grow up in these circumstances. I think I take my quality of life for granted sometimes, and this book reminded me of what I have. I can also learn perseverance from Bud, and how he didn’t give up on his plan to travel to Grand Rapids. He had a goal in mind, and he was able to achieve that goal despite the hardships along the way. I can apply this perseverance in my life and learn not to give up so easily when things don’t go my way. I can also learn compassion from Miss Thomas and other characters in this book. She and Lefty Lewis are kind to Bud even though they don’t know him very well at the beginning. I can mimic this kindness in my life and be compassionate towards people I might not even know well.
If you were to give this book an alternate title, what would it be? Explain why.
An alternate title I would give this book is The Journey to Discovery. Throughout the novel, Bud learns many new things as an orphan that help him in his daily life. He also discovers that Herman E. Calloway is his grandfather. The title, The Journey to Discovery showcases Bud’s journey to Grand Rapids, as well as his discoveries in life.
Explain why you would or would not recommend this book to your classmates.
I would recommend this book. I think the author uses many writing techniques that makes the book both suspenseful and informational. It is a great way to learn what it was like for African Americans during the Great Depression, but at the same time enjoy a good story. Bud, Not Buddy is an overall interesting read and well developed historical fiction novel.