Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis is a story about a boy who lives on his own during the Great Depression. The boy named Bud loses his mother at a young age and is forced to live in an orphanage. He lives there until he is told he is being put in a foster home. He ends up having to leave the foster home because the son of his foster parents starts abusing him. He runs away from the foster home and than has no where to go. Once Bud is on his own on the streets, he realizes that many people are in the same position as himself. Times were hard for most people to find jobs and tried their best just to get some food. This book is very interesting because there are not many books about this time in American history especially from a child's perspective.

This is a great read and children could really relate to Bud's story. In the classroom, this book could be used with upper elementary or middle school ages students. Teachers who are teaching about the Great Depression could use this book easily in their classroom because students better understand texts when they are written from the perspective of another child.