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"Bud,
Not Buddy"
[AUG. 23, 2000] “Bud,
Not Buddy." Christopher Paul Curtis, Delacorte Press, 1999, 245
pages. Grades four to six.
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Christopher
Paul Curtis takes us back to 1936, during the Great Depression,
and introduces us to Bud Caldwell. Bud may be "dirt
poor" when it comes to money and possessions, but he’s rich
in the areas of courage and humor.
 Carrying
his most precious possessions in a suitcase held together with
string, Bud sets out on an unforgettable journey to find the
father he never knew. His mother died when he was 6, and the most
important items in his suitcase are flyers of Herman E. Calloway
and his famous band, the "Dusky Devastators of the
Depression." Bud believes that those flyers will help him
find his father.
As
he hits the road, he follows "Bud Caldwell’s Rules and
Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of
Yourself." These rules help Bud face hunger, vampires and
even Herman E. Calloway.
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A
friendly stranger picks him up in the middle of the night and drops him off in
Grand Rapids, Mich., with Herman E. Calloway and his jazz band, but the man
Bud was convinced is his father turns out to be old and cantankerous. Luckily
the band members take him in, put him to work and give him music lessons. In
the end Bud uses treasured rocks to prove his relationship to Calloway.
You
will laugh out loud when Bud gets revenge, feel his pain and disappointments
along the way, and meet some wonderful characters in this 1999 Newberry Medal
winner.
Winning
awards is not new to Christopher Paul Curtis. His first novel for young
readers, "The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963," received a Newberry
Honor award.
Children in
grades four and up will thoroughly enjoy "Bud, Not Buddy" and come
away feeling they’ve met a believable character, full of wit and
determination.
For more
information, visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call 217-732-8878.
[Pat Schlough, Lincoln Public
Library District]
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Jin-Ha
is a junior high student in Minnesota, but even after two years in
America she can’t help comparing the Korean and American
customs. She still would rather eat the Korean dishes her mother
prepares than pizza.
 Her
father was a teacher in Korea, but in Minnesota he is a car
mechanic, and her mother is uncomfortable outside the home because
of her limited English.
Jin-Ha’s
friends, Maggie and Deanna, think the junior high hockey players
are "fabuloso," and are not nearly as concerned about
grades as Jin-Ha is. She is in an honors math class and is
struggling to understand the problems and pass the tests.
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She
has received "F" on two tests and told her mother "F"
stands for "fabuloso." Now she is faced with the problems of
improving her math grades and covering up the lie to her mother.
Through
a chance meeting at the library with a member of the hockey team and some
unexpected tutoring, Jin-Ha is able to find solutions to her problems.
This novel is
written by a second-generation Korean-American who tells about the
frustrations of adjusting to a new culture while at the same time preserving
the honor of her immigrant parents. This book is recommended for readers in
grades five and up.
For more
information, visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call 217-732-8878.
[Pat Schlough, Lincoln Public
Library District]
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This
set is full of information on how to set up and maintain
aquariums. The individual volumes describe the physical
characteristics, feeding and special care of the different
varieties of fish. The photographs have been coated with a special
Fotoglaze finish, which makes them look very realistic. Each
volume has an easy-to-use index.
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The
volumes include "Aquarium setting up"; "Siamese
Fighting Fish"; "Catfish"; "Goldfish";
"Guppies"; "Marine Aquarium";
"Piranhas"; "Tropical Fish"; and
"Angelfish."
This
set is recommended for grade four and up.
For
more information, visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call
217-732-8878.
[Pat Schlough, Lincoln
Public Library District]
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