Book Review: Bud, Not Buddy
A Book Review by Mookie, age 10
Bud Not Buddy, by Christopher P. Curtis, takes place in Flint, Michigan. Bud, the main character, is an African American boy who is only ten years old but still has lots of adventures. I thought the author did a wonderful job of writing this book.
Bud’s mom has died and his father is gone but his mom left him one clue about his dad. The clue is a blue flyer with a famous music band on the front. When Bud is sent to a foster home he is certain that to find his Dad he must escape, but it’s hard because his foster parents are really mean to him. When he does escape he must go to the city of Grand Rapids, so he tries to jump on a train but it goes too fast and he misses it.  When he finds another way to Grand Rapids, he meets Herman E. Calloway, the famous band player from his blue flyer. Bud thinks Herman is his dad so he’s really surprised when Herman turns out to be his grandfather. Finally, Bud has a family.
The way the author described the characters made them seem real. Everybody says that Bud is skinny, but Bud always answers, “I’m not skinny, I’m just wiry.” I felt like I knew Bud more because Bud had written his own book, and he quotes from it.
“Rules and Things Number 327: When you make up your mind to do something, hurry up and do it, if you wait, you might talk yourself out of what you wanted in the first place.”
I was excited about what would happen next because Bud went on so many adventures, like the time his foster parents locked him in the shed and he got attacked by hornets and had to break the window to get out. I don’t think the author did a good job describing the setting because when Bud is in the city, I had to imagine everything about it. He doesn’t give any descriptions about the places or the landscape. This book was inspiring to me because I’m as old as Bud is in the book, so I feel like I can survive all of the adventures that he did.  Bud, Not, Buddy is a book I would love to read again.
Mookie wrote this book report with the help of this ebook. Â It was her first attempt at a book report (or non-fiction writing in general), and she worked on it independently until the last stage of revision. Â She loved this book and wanted to share her review!
Calender Idea For Young Writers and Artists
The new year has begun, but maybe you have a blank spot on the wall crying out for a 2011 calender. Â Maybe you’ve realized you need one in the learning room, or maybe you’ll just like this idea and decide to make one for(or with) your kids, anyway.
Make-Your-Own Story Calender
Inspired by the calender my daughter created(which you’ll see below), I decided to make her a calender uniquely designed for her love of writing and stories. Â I decided this late in the night. Â On Christmas Eve. Â And it was Christmas Day at 3:30am as I finished the last page.
First I printed the 2011 calender on 12 individual sheets. Â Using a 10 x 12 Spiral Bound Bare Book(we just happened to have a few of these on hand, but they worked perfectly) I penned a writing prompt, added a series of lines and spaces for illustration on the top page, and on the opposite page I placed the calender page for the month. I repeated this same step for each month of the year.
The Bare book perfectly accommodates 12 months and it creates a sturdy, long lasting calender to hang on the wall. Â I’m sure there are other ways to make these calenders(cardstock, cardboard for the cover and back for example).
Now, keeping in mind that it was in the wee hours of the morning, I was glad to get a prompt, some lines, and illustration boxes on each page. Â I could certainly have fun going back and adding a punch of color and style with some scrapbook paper and stamps.
A few of the writing prompts:
- Think about the the books you’ve read recently. Â Choose your favorite or most interesting character, write a letter as if he/she is your friend.
- Re-tell a  scene from Narnia, but tell it from the witch’s point of view.
- Tell a story about a dragon who tries to breathe fire, but colorful bubbles float out instead.
- List ten things you love. Â List ten things you don’t love.
- Write a story about four children who time travel and meet a famous person.
- Write a silly poem, similar to Shel Silverstein.
- Re-tell a scene from the Fellowship of the Rings, but tell it from Treebeard’s point of view.(This one was a bit of teaser for her because she’s reading this with her Dad and they haven’t gotten to his character yet, but I knew they would by July).
- Leaping, Stomping, Falling, Diving, Spinning. Â Use these seven words in a poem about you.
A mix of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Â And each prompt ends with the command, “Illustrate”.
Color Your Own Calender
My daughter, the source of my inspiration, made a calender for her sister. Her sister loves to draw so she wrote drawing prompts for each month.
Draw two horses galloping very fast.
A few of the prompts she included:
- Draw a new candy bar that you have invented.
- Draw eight butterflies.
- Draw 3 aliens flying through space.
- Draw a ship sailing on the ocean.
- Draw all of your frogs.
- Draw a bookshelf full of books.
- Draw a huge hotel.
- Draw your dream house.
We should have no trouble keeping track of our year with four calenders in the house. Â And the creativity will be brewing.