Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Bud, Not Buddy
    Unavailable
    Bud, Not Buddy
    Unavailable
    Bud, Not Buddy
    Audiobook5 hours

    Bud, Not Buddy

    Written by Christopher Paul Curtis

    Narrated by James Avery

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy who decides to hit the road to find his father-from Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963, a Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honoree.

    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 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: flyers advertising 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 to find this mystery man, nothing can stop him-not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself.

    AN ALA BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS
    AN ALA NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK
    AN IRA CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD WINNER
    NAMED TO 14 STATE AWARD LISTS

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 5, 2000
    ISBN9780553750560
    Unavailable
    Bud, Not Buddy

    More audiobooks from Christopher Paul Curtis

    Related to Bud, Not Buddy

    Related audiobooks

    Children's For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Buckley’s? You’ve Got None

      Jun 20, 2018

      You’d think that in this wide land where no-one can agree on which pub had no beer, which place was the home of the Man from Snowy River and just where the black stump is, that there just might be space for a consensus on the origin of our most cheri

      2 min read

    • Article

      New York

      Oct 4, 2019

      New York
      2 min read

    • Article

      Amazing Finds in Average Change

      Apr 22, 2022

      I got a half dime in my change from McDonald’s. Scott Anderson Florida When the pandemic hit, I was motivated to take another look at my wheat back cents. I remembered some oddballs from 50 years ago, but they were not listed in the “Red Book” bac

      3 min read

    • Article

      Amazing Finds in Average Change

      Apr 11, 2022

      I got a half dime in my change from McDonalds Scott Anderson Florida When the pandemic hit, I was motivated to take another look at my wheat back cents. I remembered some oddballs from 50 years ago, but they were not listed in the “Red Book” bac

      3 min read

    • Article

      From Italy to Ireland…

      Mar 12, 2021

      From Italy to Ireland…
      4 min read

    • Article

      Guy Talk

      Aug 8, 2023

      Guy Talk
      12 min read

    • Article

      Rewind

      Oct 4, 2022

      Rewind
      2 min read

    • Article

      John R Boker Jnr (1913-2003)

      Feb 10, 2023

      Now by rights our next eminent philatelist should make his entrance later in the show, because he was with us for much of the last century and part of this and we’ve only just got to the late 1960s, writes Devlan Kruck. However, for a very important

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Calm In The Storm

      Jan 3, 2019

      The Calm In The Storm
      2 min read

    • Article

      Postcard Records

      Mar 18, 2021

      Postcard Records
      7 min read

    • Article

      From The Archives issue 24: Into The Pit

      Sep 20, 2023

      Issue 24 of Slam hit newsagency shelves at the beginning of 1994, and close to 30 years later, a better sourcebook of ‘90s Aussie skate culture couldn't exist. Alex Smith 360 flipped his way onto the cover and into the Martin Place Pit, as captured b

      4 min read

    • Article

      Rewind

      Dec 6, 2022

      Rewind
      2 min read

    • Article

      Remembering Chuck Berry

      Mar 19, 2017

      Remembering Chuck Berry
      7 min read

    • Article

      Bright Lights, B.i.g. City

      Oct 12, 2018

      Bright Lights, B.i.g. City
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Virtuous Man

      Oct 1, 2020

      A Virtuous Man
      4 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      May 2, 2023

      Email wdytyaeditorial@ourmedia.co.uk Write to WDYTYA? Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST WIN an AncestryDNA test kit from ancestry.co.uk WORTH £79 The writer of our star letter wins an AncestryDNA test worth £79 – so drop us a line and share your

      5 min read

    • Article

      Hobby Pioneers

      Dec 21, 2021

      Hobby Pioneers
      9 min read

    • Article

      Off The Shelf

      May 11, 2022

      London-based historic fiction author Annabel Abbs turns her attention to the pioneering cookery book writer, Eliza Acton and the handful of facts that are known about Miss Acton and her assistant, Ann Kirby. Miss Acton was an aspiring poet, but when

      3 min read

    • Article

      Michael Caine, King Of The Muppets

      Nov 17, 2021

      What’s your favourite Christmas film? For my parents, it was always It’s a Wonderful Life. For my children, it’s probably Love Actually. For me, since the grandchildren came along it’s definitely been The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), starring Kermi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ali

      Jun 9, 2016

      Ali
      35 min read

    • Article

      Badman Forever

      Dec 10, 2020

      Badman Forever
      6 min read

    • Article

      Life of Bryan

      Sep 15, 2023

      Life of Bryan
      31 min read

    • Article

      A Match Made In Heaven

      Oct 1, 2020

      A Match Made In Heaven
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hobby Pioneers Part III

      May 20, 2022

      The hobby pioneers articles in the Jan. 1 and Feb. 1 issues of Sports Collectors Digest generated several nice responses from readers about long-time collectors. When collectors look at cards they collected as kids, it brings back memories of the enj

      9 min read

    Reviews for Bud, Not Buddy

    4/5

    1,462 ratings163 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      An African-American family in Detroit during the Civil Rights Movement. They travel to Birmingham (obviously) & are touched by the church bombing. The family stories are funny and the lessons are touching. I listen to books on audio & mine was narrated by Lavar Burton. A perfect choice!
    • 5/5
      It is 1936 and Bud is alone moving from one foster home to another. Unfortunately, none of the homes he goes to last for very long. Something always goes wrong! He tries to learn from each mistake and creates Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. These rules are filled with a variety of facts that Bud believes to be true and many of them will have you laughing out loud. Moving around a lot means that Bud doesn’t own much. What he does own he carries around in a suitcase that he guards with his life. The contents of the suitcase are a bit of a mystery that the reader will find out more about as the story goes on. Bud’s mom is gone, and after a terrible incident at one of his foster homes he decides it is time to try to find his father. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know who is father is, but he does have a few clues. His mom was looking at some flyers right before she died, which were of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression. Bud decides this is the best lead to follow. Will Bud be able to find his dad? Are any of the clues he carries around in his suitcase of any use? Along the way Bud will have adventures that you never saw coming! You must read this book to find out how everything turns out!

      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis is a delightful historical fiction book about a unique boy who will capture your heart. Bud had me laughing with his rules and his sense of humor. The author did an amazing job creating Bud’s voice, so much so that I can hear Bud commenting in my head using his favorite phrases, “shucks” and “doggone it”. It is a super book for people of all ages and I think kids in fourth through eighth grade will especially relate to Bud. The book touches on issues in history and allows us to look at life during the mid 1930s. We also get to understand how tough Bud’s life was without a mom or a dad. I found myself hoping Bud would find his dad and that good things would come his way. I could easily relate to the characters and their emotions.I love that Bud is funny, he doesn’t let other people talk down to him and make fun of him, and he is kind to others. If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it. Who knows- you may come up with a rule or two to add to Bud’s list!
    • 3/5
      Bud, not Buddy is a 10-year-old boy who has been abused in a foster care home in Flint, Michigan. So with very little knowledge, Bud decides to head out on his own in search of his father in Grand Rapids, Michigan.I'm kind of so-so on this one. I see its value from the historical perspective (1930s), but I didn't find the 'running away' portion very realistic. Also, while I really liked Bud (especially in the beginning) his personality became annoying with the repetition of certain phrases. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed this more if I were a child. (3.25/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
    • 3/5
      BookListGr. 4-6. 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. (Reviewed September 1, 1999)0385323069Hazel Rochman
    • 5/5
      Bud is an orphan in Flint, Mich., during the Great Depression. After his mother died, he gathered all he had, including a few things of hers, into a battered suitcase which he keeps with him at all times. After a bad start with yet another foster home, Bud sets out on a quest to find Herman E. Calloway, the man he just knows has to be his daddy, meeting several interesting characters along the way.Tender, sweet, and extremely funny!
    • 5/5
      Bud's story is special kind of coming-of-age story; one takes place during the 1930s America of economic depression and social discrimination. An orphan who lost his mother at age 6, Bud is forced to make his own way through this unsympathetic and unforgiving life. We see the world through his perspective and we see how the choices he makes are reflective of his uncanny maturity and his knack for survival. In a classroom, Bud, Not Buddy would be a good story to use for developing critical thinking skills. Even if our students may not ever encounter the hardships and obstacles that Bud does, they can still put themselves in his shoes and try to use his same kind of reasoning principles. This novel also may serve as a window through which we can witness first-hand the Great Depression and its Hoovervilles, as well as the many manifestations of racial discrimination.
    • 5/5
      Excellent work of historical fiction (depression era) for middle-grade readers.
    • 1/5
      Plot moved slowly, and it didn't allow the reader to interpret anything for themselves.
    • 5/5
      it was good.
    • 3/5
      it was good
    • 4/5
      Do you like page turning books that you just don't want to put down? Adventure? Historical fiction? If you answered yes to all three questions then Bud, Not Buddy is the book for you. Bud, Not Buddy takes place in 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Even though times are hard, and ten-year-old Bud might be a motherless boy n the run, he has a few things of his own. He has his own suitcase that is full of his most special possessions, he's the author of Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making A Better Liar Out of Yourself. Also, his mom never told him who his father was, but she did leave a clue before she died: flyers that are advertising Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression. even though his mother died when Bud was 6 years old and he was sent to an orphanage, he is more brave tan most boys his age. 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.in my opinion, this book was a great example of a young boy making it by himself in the world with just a suitcase and the clothes on his back. Christopher Paul Curtis does a great job at showing his readers what was happening in the United States throughout the Great Depression (1930-1940).
    • 4/5
      The book tells of a young African American boy by the name of Bud, who ran away from his current foster home in searching for a better life by jumping trains. Christopher Paul Curtis does a great job in narrating with Bud's point of view and grasping Bud's character so wonderfully.
    • 4/5
      Young Bud has been at the Home in Flint, Michigan ever since his Momma died four years ago. When a family with a slightly older boy takes him in and Bud starts getting bullied, he runs away determined to seek out Herman Calloway, a man he believes to be his father.I will be the first to admit that my relationship with this book suffered from the disjointed way I read it. I'd listen and fall asleep (the narrator was fabulous it was not his fault), read the book (and reread parts I was half-asleep for) and the e-book over the course of 11 days, when if I'd just sat down with the book itself I probably could've read it in a sitting or two. Also, in looking over the reviews I happened upon a pretty big spoiler that ruined the emotional impact the ending might have had. I liked Bud, but I found the scenario a little unbelievable. Would a ten-year-old really have run away and been on his own and as naive as this child during the Great Depression? That being said, this is a book written for kids, not adults, and questions like this would not have bothered me 25 years ago. Bud's journey was intriguing, but I found the ending abrupt. This historical fiction does give a glimpse of how life was like for many Americans in that time period, and the author's note tells an intriguing story of real people that two of the characters were based upon. I wanted to like the book more than I did, but ended up with mixed feelings.
    • 3/5
      This is a book that was recommended to me by students. It's often assigned reading in school, but it was never assigned for me. I didn't really have an expectation that I would either like or dislike "Bud, Not Buddy" but I definitely enjoyed it. I was sad for Bud and how he was treated in the foster care system. Even worse, it's not much better in the present day. I was interested to find out the significance of Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! and I think that that was all wrapped up nicely. And I love that the author honored his grandfathers by basing two important characters on them.
    • 4/5
      Compelling and a quick read.
    • 4/5
      Bud's mother died when he was 6 and he has been living in a 'home' when he isn't in foster care. In the last foster home, an older boy beat him up then told his parents that Bud had beat him. Bud ran away, determined to find his father, a man he knows only from a flyer advertising his jazz band.
    • 1/5
      This book is very interesting because you don't know what's coming next and when you find out what's coming next you would think its weird because it would be no where close to what you would think would happen and I Iike the chapter where bud thought the man was a vampire because he was carrying blood to the hospital also I like chapter where bud was in the shack and bud was locked in there by one of the guards and it was a life and death situation because he was getting stung by bees and there nails pricking in his feet and he kept on getting cut by the knives on the walls it was like a torture chamber but he got out bud was a slave because this took place back when blacks where slaves and where treated badly
    • 5/5
      Touching, riveting book about a young boy on a search for his father after living in multiple foster homes. He carries a special suitcase and meets many helpful people along the way. Will he find him or be sent back?
    • 5/5
      Finished while X was 8 years old. He loved and was shocked by the ending! 2014
    • 4/5
      I have owned this book for years and never read it. I'm glad I waited because I think that having lived in Michigan and knowing about the history really helped me enjoy the book more than I would have otherwise. I thought it was really well done and I can see why it won the Newberry.
    • 4/5
      I liked this more than his newer work. I did figure out part of the mystery part-way through, but unlike with other works, it didn't annoy me that I did so.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful read aloud that was recommended to me by another teacher who had read it aloud to her class. The stylistic dialogue and inner narrative of Bud adds an authentic flavor to the book, and there are lots of ways to connect the book to different topics (music, jazz, the Depression, families, and the list goes on). I wonder what the audiobook version is like...
    • 5/5
      This book was really good! Very heartwarming and exciting. I really enjoyed reading it. I read it for a project - I had to do a presentation on a book that would teach diversity to middle/high schoolers. This book definitely fit the bill. I liked it because it is still relevant and relatable. Many students live in the children's home here and we are in economic crisi
    • 5/5
      This is one of the first children's literature books I read as an adult. I remembered thinking it was excellent, informative and funny and that I wished I had books like that growing up. The story takes place in 1937 and young Bud is an orphan. His mom died and he never knew his dad. All he has of him is a flyer left behind about a band. So Bud goes in search and ends up on fun, exciting and sometimes dangerous missions, filled with hunger, fear, vampires and more.Curtis weaves humor throughout the book, especially when we get to see Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.This book is full of laugh-out-loud humor and wonderful characters. It highlights the era of jazz and also hits on the Great Depression. This would be a good book to pair with a non-fiction book about the Great Depression.
    • 4/5
      I first read this book and school, and a few years later I went back and re read it because I enjoyed it so much. This book about a young boy trying to survive. His mother died, and ends up in an orphanage a few times. He runs away in hopes of finding his father. He encounters many obstacles but his journey is filled with new people and new experiences.
    • 4/5
      This is a great book about a young boy, Bud, who is sent to live in an orphanage when his mother passes away. The book tells story about Bud's misfortunes while he lives in the orphanage. Bud has a picture of his mother and who he thinks to be his father, and throughout the book he is in search of his father. Bud eventually finds the man and discovers exactly who the man is. This is a great book for young children when it comes to realizing that others are not always as fortunate as us.
    • 5/5
      This book is set in the middle of the depression. This book will help children in middle elementary understand the struggles of the depression and also that not all children are as fortunate as they are. When I read this, I remember crying while reading, I was only in fifth grade. This is by far one of my favorite books for middle elementary.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was a wonderful book. I always heard the title growing up, and when I saw it at my local library I thought I'd check it out. It's a great book for kids I loved the ending.
    • 5/5
      Review: This book is about a boy named Bud who is left orphaned when his mom died. He is put into a foster home with a family who does not treat him will so he escapes and starts his own journey. Bud goes through many struggles when he is living on the streets but the whole time he has one goal in mind. He wants to find who he thinks might be his father that is in a picture that his mother gave him. Bud does find the man in the picture but it is not his father. It is his grandfather. By the end of the book Bud finally has a home. Genre: Historical FictionGenre Critique: This book is a good example of a historical fiction book because it takes place around 1936. The wording and setting of the book are true to the time period it was set in. Events in the story are true to events that happened around that time period. Children from this time period would be able to relate to this book because of the poverty of people at the time and the jobs and other things that people had.
    • 5/5
      Review: Bud Caldwell, a ten-year-old orphan from Flint, Michigan, sets out on a journey to find his father and ends up finding a whole family.Genre: Historical FictionCritique: This novel is a great example of historical fiction, because it is both a great story and good history. This story takes place around 1936 and goes through the point of view of this young boy, who understand a lot for his age but not everything. While Bud was a fictional character, the poverty of the people around him, the discrimination, the Hoovervilles, the music, and more were real historical events and beliefs of this time. Another aspect of this book that was very true to history was the language and the speech.