Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy is full of laugh-out-loud humor and wonderful characters, hitting the high notes of jazz and sounding the deeper tones of the Great Depression."

Living his childhood in the orphanage Bud is not so eager to move away from what he sees as home and live with the Amos family. As he moves in he finds that his gut feeling was right. Days in the Amos household are filled with nothing more than tormenting from his twelve-year old foster brother, Todd. When Bud begins getting punished for things he did not do he finds that it is only in his best interest to run away. He wishes to go in search of his father. Little does he know there is a whole big world outside the Amos family's home. Is he ready for the challenge?

Websites

• This website offers a list of a variety of books that all carry the similar topic of the Great Depression. If students enjoy reading about this historical event in Bud, Not Buddy you may suggest some of the other texts listed here.
• Perhaps you may also wish to show your students the author's web page. This provides them an opportunity to learn more about the author and other books they may have written.

Vocabulary

For this story we may focus on learning vocabulary through asking key questions.

• What is a Hooverville?
• Why are some of the people in the story skinny and raggedy?
• What may it be like to live in poverty?

This encourages students to use context clues and look for meaning.

Reading Activities

Before Reading

On the cover of the book we find a pair of Jazz musicians. Have students in your class research the importance of jazz during the Great Depression era. Who were some of the famous musicians? What did jazz do to help the people? This encourages them to use resources such as the Internet, encyclopedias and other nonfiction texts. 

During Reading

While reading have students think about Bud as a character. He is most likely similar to them in age. Can they imagine struggling through some of the obstacles that he faces? How might they feel if their lifestyle was more like his? After having brainstormed, students may write a letter to Bud stressing their answers to these questions and perhaps commending him on overcoming particular moments of strife.

After Reading

Have the students in your class do a choral reading of the novel A Year Down Yonder written by Richard Peck, reading a chapter or so each day until the book is finished. How is this story similar to Bud, Not Buddy? What do each convey about the difficulties of the Great Depression.