Bud, Not Buddy
Front cover of Bud, Not Buddy.
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| Author | Christopher Paul Curtis |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adult humor, Multicultural fiction, Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Delacorte Books for Adult Readers |
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Publication date
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September 2, 2017 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 245 pages |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 40744296 |
| LC Class | PZ7.C94137 Bu 1999 |
Bud, Not Buddy is a children's novel written by Christopher Paul Curtis, published in 1999. The book received the 2000 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature. Christopher Paul Curtis was also recognized with the 2000 Coretta Scott King Award, an award given to outstanding African-American authors.
Bud Caldwell is a ten-year-old orphan, living in Flint, Michigan, in 1936. Since the death of his mother four years earlier, Bud has been living in an orphanage and had short stints in several foster homes. The few items he has left of his mother include: a blanket, a bag of rocks, a photograph of his mother as a child, and fliers that show Herman E. Calloway and his jazz band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression.
The story opens with Bud being placed with a new foster family, the Amoses. Bud soon meets Todd Amos, their 12-year-old son, who teases him mercilessly and calls him Buddy. After a fight with Todd, Bud is forced to spend the night in the garden shed. In the shed, he mistakes a hornet nest for a vampire bat and hits the nest with a rake. This upsets the hornets and Bud gets stung.
After escaping the shed, Bud takes revenge on Todd by making him wet his bed by putting Todd's hand in warm water. He escapes and sleeps under a Christmas tree for the night. His friend Bugs wakes him up so they can go to the West.
Bud runs away with Bugs. They try to hop on a train, but only Bugs does. Bud starts walking to go to Grand Rapids, Michigan. On the way he meets Lefty Lewis who gives him a ride in his car to Grand Rapids to find his father, as he calls him, Herman E. Calloway.
Bud later discovers that Herman E. Calloway is his grandfather when he meets the band. The band treats Bud with kindness, but Herman treats Bud with great animosity. Bud delivers the news that Bud's mom, Angela, is dead. This brings great grief to Herman.
The story ends with Bud receiving a horn from the band, and Bud thinks he will have a bright future. It also ends with Bud finding out that the dead girl's room that he sleeps in was his mother's room.
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