Bud, Not Buddy (novel)

Listen closely. Can you feel the worn, cardboard handle of a suitcase in your hand. Inside me, there is a soft, fuzzy blanket, a bag of rocks with strange writing on them, and five flyers showing a man with a big fiddle. I am the story of a ten-year-old boy named Bud Caldwell, who carries that suitcase on a very long walk. He is on a quest, you see, to find the man on the flyers, a man he believes is his father. Bud is an orphan living in Flint, Michigan, during a very tough time, and he has a special list of rules to help him survive, called “Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.” He uses these rules to be brave and clever when grown-ups are not very kind. His journey is filled with the lonely sound of a saxophone, the kindness of strangers, and the hope that he will find a place where he truly belongs. Can you imagine packing up everything you own in one small case and setting off all by yourself. That is the adventure you find when you open my cover. I am the book, Bud, Not Buddy.

My story didn't just appear out of thin air. I was carefully crafted by a man named Christopher Paul Curtis. Before he was a famous author, he worked for thirteen years in a car factory, and in his spare time, he would write. He wove my story from memories of his own family. His grandfather, Earl “Lefty” Lewis, was a professional baseball pitcher who was known for being a great jokester, much like my main character, Bud. His other grandfather, Herman E. Curtis, was a musician who led a band called the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!! during the 1930s. Does that name sound familiar. Christopher Paul Curtis combined the spirit of his funny grandfather with the musical world of his other grandfather to create the characters in my pages, including the grumpy bandleader Herman E. Calloway. My author wanted to tell a story about a child who, despite facing hardship, never gives up. He set my adventure in the year 1936, right in the middle of the Great Depression, a time when jobs were scarce and life was hard for millions of Americans. I was finally published and shared with the world on September 1st, 1999, ready to tell my tale of resilience, humor, and the search for family.

Once I was printed, my journey truly began. I left the printing press and traveled to bookstores, libraries, and classrooms all across the country and even the world. Children and adults opened my pages and followed Bud on his quest. They laughed at his funny rules and felt their hearts ache when he was lonely. In the year 2000, something amazing happened. I was honored with two of the most special awards a children’s book can receive: the Newbery Medal for my storytelling and the Coretta Scott King Award, which celebrates African American culture and human values. These awards meant that even more people would get to know Bud's story. I found a home in the hands of countless young readers, becoming a friend to anyone who has ever felt a little lost. I am more than just a book. I am a reminder that family can be found in the most unexpected places and that a little bit of hope, like a good song, can carry you a very long way.