Bud, Not Buddy
It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud's got a few things going for him: 1. He has his own suitcase filled with his own important, secret things. 2. He's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. 3. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! Bud's got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him--not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself.Bud, Not Buddy is full of laugh-out-loud humor and wonderful characters, hitting the high notes of jazz and sounding the deeper tones of the Great Depression. Once again Christopher Paul Curtis, author of the award-winning novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, takes readers on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey.From the Hardcover edition.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Bud, Not Buddy
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
In 1936 Flint, Michigan, ten-year-old orphan Bud Caldwell escapes another bad foster placement with his suitcase, his mother's old flyers, and a plan to walk to Grand Rapids and find the bandleader he believes is his dad.
Yes. Bud, Not Buddy won the 2000 Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award, making Christopher Paul Curtis the first author to win both major awards for the same book in the same year.
Bud, Not Buddy is middle grade, recommended for readers 8 to 12. It is widely taught in fourth and fifth grade classrooms as historical fiction set during the Great Depression.
Bud, Not Buddy was written by Christopher Paul Curtis, published in 1994 by Lannoo.
Bud, Not Buddy is 245 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Bud, Not Buddy takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
Bud, Not Buddy is a standalone novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, not part of a series.
Bud, Not Buddy is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.