From: Angie Miles <readingam>
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:44:56 -0800 (PST)

I have to agree.? Each of my two older boys read it?as 4th graders...but I used excerpts with high school kids in a summer program.? I skipped right over upper elementary and middle school students, because the excerpts were so perfect for the older students.? Readers of all ages can imagine his desperation, laugh at the pure honesty of the humor, and root for Bud every step of the way. I agree that Buddy absolutely transcends, and I can't wait to read Elijah of Buxton, which won the King Award and got a nod from Newbery, as well.
? An interesting aside...I think Curtis may have found some inspiration for Buddy in a picture book by Laurence Anholt.? In Picasso and the Girl with?a Ponytail, Anholt paints the story of the artist's relationship with Sylvette, who became his model and later a painter herself.? Sylvette keeps her family secrets and personal treasures locked in an old trunk, similar to Bud's trunk.? Picasso encourages?Sylvette by telling her "when one door closes, another door opens", which is the refrain offered by Bud's mother throughout the book.? Though it may be a coincidence, I have to?wonder if this picture book set Curtis' imagination in motion.? One never knows where a muse may take form.? Perhaps?Curtis is a Picasso and/or Anholt admirer.?
? Whether he is or isn't, he's superbly talented at?describing?what is delightful and ridiculous in the midst of devastation and desperation.? Bud Not Buddy is fun and funny, and it does speak to all ages.
? Angie Miles Ashland, Virginia
Received on Sat 15 Nov 2008 12:44:56 AM CST