Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
"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 Bud--"not Buddy"--Caldwell, an orphan on the run
from abusive foster homes and Hoovervilles in 1930s Michigan. And the idea
that's planted itself in his head is that Herman E. Calloway, standup-bass
player for the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, is his father.
Guided only by a flier for one of Calloway's
shows--a small, blue poster that had mysteriously upset his mother shortly
before she died--Bud sets off to track down his supposed dad, a man he's
never laid eyes on. And, being 10, Bud-not-Buddy gets into all sorts of
trouble along the way, barely escaping a monster-infested woodshed, stealing
a vampire's car, and even getting tricked into "busting slob with a real
live girl." Christopher Paul Curtis, author of
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, once again
exhibits his skill for capturing the language and feel of an era and creates
an authentic, touching, often hilarious voice in little Bud. (Ages 8 to 12)
--Paul Hughes
From Publishers Weekly
A 10-year-old boy in
Depression-era Michigan sets out to find the man he believes to be his
father. "While the harshness of Bud's circumstances are authentically
depicted, Curtis imbues them with an aura of hope, and he makes readers
laugh even when he sets up the most daunting scenarios," said PW in our Best
Books citation. Ages 9-12. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-When 10-year-old Bud
Caldwell runs away from his new foster home, he realizes he has nowhere to
go but to search for the father he has never known: a legendary jazz
musician advertised on some old posters his deceased mother had kept. A
friendly stranger picks him up on the road in the middle of the night and
deposits him in Grand Rapids, MI, with Herman E. Calloway and his jazz band,
but the man Bud was convinced was his father turns out to be old, cold, and
cantankerous. Luckily, the band members are more welcoming; they take him
in, put him to work, and begin to teach him to play an instrument. In a
Victorian ending, Bud uses the rocks he has treasured from his childhood to
prove his surprising relationship with Mr. Calloway. The lively humor
contrasts with the grim details of the Depression-era setting and the
particular difficulties faced by African Americans at that time. Bud is a
plucky, engaging protagonist. Other characters are exaggerations: the good
ones (the librarian and Pullman car porter who help him on his journey and
the band members who embrace him) are totally open and supportive, while the
villainous foster family finds particularly imaginative ways to torture
their charge. However, readers will be so caught up in the adventure that
they won't mind. Curtis has given a fresh, new look to a traditional
orphan-finds-a-home story that would be a crackerjack read-aloud.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Motherless Bud shares
his amusingly astute rules of life as he hits the road to find the jazz
musician he believes is his father. A medley of characters brings
Depression-era Michigan to life. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business
Information, Inc.
From Parents' Choice®
An orphaned runaway, Bud copes
with the adult world with his numbered "Rules and Things." His few treasures
from his former life with "Momma," are kept in a battered suitcase. One, a
flyer advertising a musical group, leads him on a fantasy journey to an
amazing reality. A 1999 Gold Award Winner. Ages 10 and up. (Kemie Nix,
Parents' Choice®).
From AudioFile
Bud Caldwell, a 10-year-old
vagabond orphan in pursuit of his long lost father from Flint to Grand
Rapids, Michigan, is the quintessential endearing hero. Bud's first-person
narrative demands an enthusiastic and versatile reader. James Avery is all
that and more. His Bud is charming and sincere, and the cast of characters,
presented with endless variations in voicing, is authentic and memorable.
His zippy reading creates the perfect mood. Add in occasional jazz tunes at
chapter changes, as well as Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a
Funner Life and Making a Better Liar out of Yourself, and you just may have
the best way to experience this award-winning book. T.B. Winner of AUDIOFILE
Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright ©
AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
Bud, 10, is on the run from the
orphanage and from yet another mean foster family. His mother died when he
was 6, and he wants to find his father. Set in Michigan during the Great
Depression, this is an Oliver Twist kind of foundling story, but it's told
with affectionate comedy, like the first part of Curtis' The Watsons Go
to Birmingham (1995). On his journey, Bud finds danger and violence
(most of it treated as farce), but more often, he finds kindness--in the
food line, in the library, in the Hooverville squatter camp, on the
road--until he discovers who he is and where he belongs. Told in the boy's
naive, desperate voice, with lots of examples of his survival tactics
("Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar out of
Yourself"), this will make a great read-aloud. Curtis says in an afterword
that some of the characters are based on real people, including his own
grandfathers, so it's not surprising that the rich blend of tall tale,
slapstick, sorrow, and sweetness has the wry, teasing warmth of family
folklore. Hazel Rochman
Book Description
It’s 1936 Flint, Michigan.
Times may be hard, and 10-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy, but Bud’s
got a few things going for him: 1. He has his own suitcase full of special
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: posters of Herman E.
Calloway and his band of renown, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression.
Bud is sure those posters will lead him to his father. Once he decides to
hit the road, nothing can stop him, not hunger, not fear, not would-be
vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself.
About the Author
Christopher Paul Curtis
is the author of the Newbery Honor–winning The Watsons Go to
Birmingham—1963.
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