Bud, Not Buddy

Curtis, Christopher P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy.  New York: Yearling Books.

      Do you get irritated when your name is mispronounced?  If so, you have a pet peeve like Bud Caldwell in the story Bud, Not Buddy.  "Mama would always tell me, "Bud is your name and don't you ever let anyone call you anything outside of that either.  Especially don't you ever let anyone call you Buddy, I may have some problems but being stupid isn't one of them, I would've added dy onto the end of your name if I intended for it to be there.  I knew what I was doing, Buddy is a dog's name or a name that someone's going to use on you if they're being false-friendly.  Your name is Bud, period." 

     Ten-year-old Bud Caldwell is on a search looking for his father in Flint, Michigan around the 1930's.  He has a few clues about who his father is, however he is bound and determined to meet him.  Bud goes through a lot of obstacles but remembers his mama's saying, "And Bud, I want you always to remember, no matter how bad things look to you, no matter how dark the night, when one door closes, don't worry, because another door opens."  

     Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy won a Newbery Medal, as well as a Coretta Scott King Award.  To find out more about Bud Caldwell and his adventure on finding his father, read this book!  It will keep you "glued" from start to finish.

So B. It

Weeks, S. (2004). So b. it. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

     Have you ever wondered about things you have forgotten from your past?  You are not the only one, twelve year old Heidi wonders the same.  “One thing I knew for a fact, from the time I knew anything at all, was that I didn’t have a father. What I had was Mama and Bernadette, and as far as I was concerned, that was plenty.”  
     Heidi lived with her mother and neighbor Bernadette.  Her mother was mentally disabled and only had 23 words in her vocabulary.  Bernadette lived in the apartment that was joined to theirs and had a disease named angora phobia and hasn't left her apartment in years.  Living with these two, Heidi became very anxious to figure out her past and more about where she came from. 
     If you want to find out what happens when Heidi goes on a search for her past, I suggest you read this book.  I was wrapped up in this story from the time I picked it up.  This is a great realistic novel for young adults from ages 10-14 to understand mental challenges.