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Bud, Not Buddy
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Read Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy (1999) (edit title/settings)

by Christopher Paul Curtis (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

"It's funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they're just like seeds. Both of them start real, real small and then... woop, zoop, sloop... before you can say Jack Robinson, they've gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could." So figures scrappy 10-year-old philosopher... read more

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Summary edit see section history

''Here we go again.'' Those are the words Bud, not Buddy, Caldwell are thinking when he is about to leave the orphanage to go to another foster home. This foster home has a twelve-year-old only child named Todd Ammos that Bud knows is going to beat him up. In the middle of the night Todd... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

''Here we go again.'' Those are the words Bud, not Buddy, Caldwell are thinking when he is about to leave the orphanage to go to another foster home. This foster home has a twelve-year-old only child named Todd Ammos that Bud knows is going to beat him up. In the middle of the night Todd sticks a pencil up Bud's nose all the way to ''r''! Then Todd accuses Bud of being a bed wetter. The Ammoses lock Bud in their shed for the night, but Bud escapes and now he is on the run.

Bud has a clue to where his father might be because of a blue flyer that Bud's mom was crying about before she died. The flyer is advertising a band called: Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depresion. If he can find them, he might be able to find his dad.

His journey takes him through a Hooverville where he kisses a girl for the first time. Then a place where a vampires daughter makes ''paincakes'' instead of pancakes.Then finally to Grand Rapids where he finds his dad. But his Herman E. Calloway looks to old to be his dad. With the help of some rocks Bud finds out that he is actually his grandfather!

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Bud: Bud is the main character. Very strong, independent. He has had to move around a lot so he's used to just getting up and leaving. He is searching to find Herman E. Calloway, the man he believes to be his father.
  • Herman E. Calloway: A cranky old jazz musician; he is the man that Bud is searching for and believes to be his father
  • Mr. Jimmy: Member of the band
  • Mr. Lewis: Lefty Lewis was the man to discover Bud on the side of the road in the middle of the night. Bud believed Mr. Lewis to be a vampire!
  • Todd: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Amos. He is very hateful toward Bud. He is always picking on Bud and trying to get him in trouble. He even shoves a pencil up Bud's nose.
  • Miss Thomas: Miss Thomas is the lead singer in Herman Calloway's band. She shows a lot of love for Bud, not Buddy, as he first arrives in Grand Rapids.
  • Steady Eddie: Member of the band.
  • Mrs. Amos: Bud's cruel foster mother; she believes anything her son Todd says
  • Momma: Bud's Mom. She dies when he is six, so Bud has to go into foster care.
  • Mrs. Sleet: Add a description of this character.
  • Clarence: Bud's fake name that his pretend family gives him in line at the Mission.
  • Jerry
  • Deza Malone: A sweet little girl that Bud meets in Hooverville
  • James
  • Scott: Mrs. Sleet's young son; eats breakfast with Bud
  • Kim: Mrs. Sleet's young daughter; also has breakfast with Bud one morning.
  • Caldwell
Show all 17 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “if you make up a lie keep it short and simple”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “A bud is a flower-to-be. A flower-in-waiting. Waiting for just the right warmth and care to open up. It’s a little fist of love waiting to unfold and be seen by the world. And that’s you.”
    Highlighted by 59 Kindle customers
  • Most folks think you start to be a real adult when you’re fifteen or sixteen years old, but that’s not true, it really starts when you’re around six.
    Highlighted by 47 Kindle customers
  • “Bud is your name and don’t you ever let anyone call you anything outside of that either.”
    Highlighted by 45 Kindle customers
  • Six is real tough. That’s how old I was when I came to live here in the Home. That’s how old I was when Momma died.
    Highlighted by 43 Kindle customers
  • RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 83 If a Adult Tells You Not to Worry, and You Weren’t Worried Before, You Better Hurry Up and Start ’Cause You’re Already Running Late.
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers
  • RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 3 If You Got to Tell a Lie, Make Sure It’s Simple and Easy to Remember.
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers
  • RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 328 When You Make Up Your Mind to Do Something, Hurry Up and Do It, If You Wait You Might Talk Yourself Out of What You Wanted in the First Place.
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers
  • RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 118 You Have to Give Adults Something That They Think They Can Use to Hurt You by Taking It Away. That Way They Might Not Take Something Away That You Really Do Want. Unless They’re Crazy or Real Stupid They Won’t Take Everything Because if They Did They Wouldn’t Have Anything to Hold Over Your Head to Hurt You with Later.
    Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers
  • I remember this blue one too ’cause it wasn’t too long after she brought it home that I knocked on Momma’s bedroom door, then found her.
    Highlighted by 36 Kindle customers
  • RULES AND THINGS NUMBER 16 If a Grown-up Ever Starts a Sentence by Saying “Haven’t You Heard,” Get Ready, ’Cause What’s About to Come Out of Their Mouth Is Gonna Drop You Headfirst into a Boiling Tragedy.
    Highlighted by 27 Kindle customers
Show all 11 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

HERE WE GO AGAIN.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 957 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)

Preceded by I Am Not Esther, and followed by Stony Heart Country.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Christopher Paul Curtis (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: Add the language.
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 272

Awards edit see section history

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • Bud Not Buddy Literature Guide by Secondary Solutions: Literature Guide for Bud, Not Buddy contains 88 pages of student coursework, activities, quizzes, tests, and more aligned with the Common Core State Standards for ELA in Literature as well as the NCTE/IRA National ELA Content Standards in English for fifth through seventh grade.

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