“There comes a time when you're losing a fight that it just doesn't make sense to keep on fighting. It's not that you're being a quitter, it's just that you've got the sense to know when enough is enough.” - Christopher Paul Curtis, “Bud, Not Buddy”
I remember going into my elementary school’s library and eagerly looking for something to read that was worth my time. I felt as though I had read all the “good” books in my library and I was starting to get disappointed with the remaining selection. I went to the librarian and asked, “Mrs. Whatley, what is a book that you recommend?”
“It depends on what you’re looking for,” she replied.
“Anything,” I said, “At this point, I just want a good book that will keep me captivated.”
She led me right away to a small little section in the corner of the library. She picked up a blue book that looked like it had never been opened. It was Christopher Paul Curtis’s “Bud, Not Buddy.”
Christopher Paul Curtis is an American children's books author. He was the second oldest of five siblings and was born and raised in Flint, Michigan which has been used as a prominent setting in several of his books. When he was younger, he worked at General Motors straight after high school because the pay and benefits couldn’t be beat. Curtis worked in the assembly line each night for eight or more hours, and on about 60 cars per hour. Curtis and his coworker later decided that instead of working every other car, they would work every 30 minutes instead. This allowed him to have the time to do other things, such as writing. Some of the things he wrote were letters, while others were sketches of stories that eventually led him to become one of America’s leading authors of children’s literature.
“Read this and then tell me what you think,” she said with a smile.
I thought, heck, it must be good if it won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature and the Coretta Scott King Award, which is given to outstanding African-American authors.
I went home. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I finished it in one sitting. It was an easy read at 245 pages.
“Bud, not Buddy” follows the story and life of a 10 year old African American boy named Bud Caldwell in the 1930s whose mother had just passed away. Bud travels from Flint to Grand Rapids, in a mission to find his father, who he believes to be a jazz musician named Herman E. Calloway. Throughout the book, Bud tells of his experiences in life as an orphaned youth and the racism of the time, such as laws that prohibited African Americans from owning property, the imminent dangers that blacks were facing, and racial segregation. The effects of The Depression are continuously described throughout the story and gives readers an insight on the time period. Curtis does an awesome job at pointing out how the tension between police and those attempting migration to escape their poverty was like and how this was a common characteristic of The Great Depression. The turbulent era of the 1930s was not only reflected in the story, but on Bud as well. His migration, loss of home, and loss of family were experienced by many families and orphaned children during that time period. Jazz music and musicians are a main theme of the story as well, since Bud searches and eventually finds his father who is a jazz musician. At first, his father negates him, but after thought and contemplation, he invites Bud to stay and watch him play, giving readers the cue that Bud has finally found a home, his family, and where he belongs. This part in the book symbolized how many African Americans turned to music for solace and as a symbol of unity amongst them. Additionally, Curtis’s inspiration for this story was his grandfather, who was a jazz musician during The Great Depression, just like Bud’s father.
This book gave me a new perspective on a cultural and emotional level, whilst broadening my knowledge of The Great Depression. I expected a simple children’s book, and instead I got a lesson on life and love. I realized how much society nowadays romanticizes the older periods of time, such as the 30s, 50s, and 70s. However, you slowly start to realize that all the books, movies, and shows that portray these eras as fashionable and fun, are mostly written by white people. When you start reading pieces of literature from the eyes of minorities, you will soon realize the brutality of our past and the world.
In conclusion, if you want an easy introduction to multicultural literature that opens your eyes and heart, give this book a try. It is truly chicken soup for the soul. Once you read this book, I encourage you to pass it on to people you know or recommend it to them. I read this book when I was about twelve years old. I am now twenty, and I came across a copy of this book at a local Goodwill. I own it now for purely sentimental reasons.
You might just do the same.
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Other recommendations of multicultural literature:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child by Fransico Jimenez
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
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