Bud, Not Buddy
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Published by Delacorte Press
Copyright 1999

Accelerated Reader: 5.0

Suggested Delivery: Independent or Guided Reading

FASCINATING, AUDACIOUS, BOLD, ATTENTION-GRABBING, GENUINE

This brilliantly written novel focuses on the life of an eleven year old black boy during the Great Depression.  Flint Michigan is the backdrop for this child’s wild and crazy adventures.  Starting off in a boy’s home after losing his mother, Bud is placed into a home from which he escapes, not long after he beats up the child who lives there.  On the run, Bud finds himself spending lots of time at the library before he runs into Bugs, another boy from the home, and the two conjure up a plan to catch a train west.  After spending a night in Hooverville, the boys are separated and Bud finds himself on the search to find his father, a jazz icon.  While being attached at the hip with his valuable suitcase, Bud uses what’s inside to help find out that the man he once thought was his father is actually his grandfather. 

Comic Generator

Students will be able to create a comic using this interactive site and generate a character to add to the plot.

Virtual Venn Diagram

This interactive tool helps create a Venn Diagram which can be used during reading to contradict the lives of the students today and the way Buddy lived in the Great Depression. 

Fast Facts

This website includes several fast facts that will help students better understand the Great Depression.  Information about the president, the cause, the homeless, the economy and other variables affected by this phenomenon are all introduced in a kid friendly format.  Exploring this site before reading the novel will help provide a background of the setting. 

VOCAB: Loathsome, Britches, Union, Icebox, Hooverville, Labor organizers, Kin, Matrimonial, Pullman

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS:

-Use this book to support Black History Month in February.

-Use this book during your social studies lesson to take a closer look at the Great Depression and the 1930’s.

-Use this book to introduce different styles of music important to the United States including Jazz, Blues, Country and Hip Hop.  Students can research great musicians of each era and compare findings. 

Before: Students will complete an anticipation guide which will introduce them to several topics discussed in the novel including the Great Depression, Hooverville, racism, friendship and jazz. 

During:  Students will use a Venn Diagram to compare the lives of children today and the lives of children during the Great Depression.  Students will be able to see the huge differences in today’s society and the 1930’s using this implement. 

After:  After reading Bud, Not Buddy, students will be able to create a comic using the site above to generate a character to add to the plot.  They will then write a short summary explaining how adding this character may have changed the book. 

Writing:  Adding onto the post-reading activity, students will then write a journal entry as the new character they have created.  This is to ensure their understanding of the book.  They are to create a new scenario this character has gotten themselves into with the main character Buddy.