Bud Caldwell is ten years old. At the age of six, Bud’s mother died. Bud lives in an orphanage, called the Home, since he does not have any family members to take care of him. When Bud heard he was going to live with the Amos, he wasn’t very excited. He heard that Mr. and Mrs. Amos’ son, Todd, was two years older than he is. Bud’s friend, Bugs, was going to live with a family that had three little girls. Bud would rather take Bugs’ new family than live with a twelve year old boy any day. Bud had a suitcase full of important things like a photo of his mother, rocks that his mother gave to him from different states and flyers that could lead Bud to his father (who he thought was Herman E. Calloway). The next morning after Bud arrived at the Amos’ house, he was awakened by a pencil that was shoved up his nose by Todd. Bud knew he wasn’t going to let this happen without a fight, but a bed wetter like him wouldn’t have a chance against someone like Todd. But, when Bud slapped Todd, Todd started punching Bud until he balled up in the corner of the room. Then, Mrs.Amose was watching Todd supposedly have an asthma attack while Bud was hiding under the bed. Since Mrs. Amos was concerned about Todd’s safety, she instructed Mr. Amos to put away Bud’s suitcase, get a pillow and a blanket, and take Bud to the shed. In the morning, the Amos would call the home and tell them to come get Bud. Todd kept telling these so called “true stories” to Bud about what happened to the last kid that was in the shed. Bud didn’t want to believe Todd, so he ignored him. Once bud entered the shed, he couldn’t see anything. It was dark and there was gray fog everywhere, making it impossible to see. Bud had his silver knife with him for protection. Bud tried to find a way out. He thought that maybe the door wasn’t locked. When Bud reached for the door knob, he was frightened by the three fish heads guarding the door knob. Bud couldn’t see out the windows because there was newspaper taped to them, so he checked to see if they were taped in the inside or the outside of the shed. The newspaper was taped in the inside, so Bud snuck out the shed and went inside the house. Right after pouring warm water on Todd’s bed and hiding the family’s shotgun, Bud grabbed his suitcase and headed for the local library.

Bud remembered how his mother would read books to him before he went to bed. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t. When Bud arrived at the library, he knew he was on the lam. He slept under one of the trees that were outside the library doors. Bud grabbed his blanket out his suit case and put it over his head. Bud decided to go to the mission to get some breakfast in the morning. He knew he would have to wake up extra early so he could get a good spot in line. Then, later he would go back to the mission for lunch. When Bud woke up, he swathe sun began to rise. Once he arrived at the mission, a big, tall man announced that the people before Bud were the last group of people to eat breakfast. Bud kept complaining and begged to eat breakfast, but the big man didn’t show any sympathy. The more Bud begged, the more he was pushing the big man’s buttons. Right when the man was about to hurt Bud, a family of four called Bud Clarence and pretended like he was a part of the family. So, Bud and his pretend family walked inside the mission. After the meal, Bud thanked his pretend family, and his pretend parents told him to come early next time. Then, Bud headed back to the library. When Bud returned to the library, he started looking for Miss Hill. He left his suitcase with the librarian at the front desk. Bud walked up and down the book shelves and he still couldn’t find Miss Hill. Bud went to the front desk and asked the woman where he could find Miss Hill. She told him that Miss Hill was married and she was now living in Chicago. Bud was shocked and asked the woman how long it would be to go from Flint to Chicago. Like any other librarian, she looked in a lot of informational text books and told bud the exact time and miles it was from Flint to Chicago. The librarian recognized Bud and gave him a book all about the civil war to read. Once night fell, the librarian said it was time for him to go. Bud couldn’t believe how fast time flew. The woman told Bud bye and said that she would see him tomorrow.

While Bud was asleep, he heard a twig crack. He pulled out his silver knife and pulled his blanket over his head. He heard a whisper that said “Bud, it’s me, Bugs.” Bud was relived it was Bugs. Bugs said that he heard that Bud got in a fight with Todd. Then, he told him about this train that was heading from Hooper Ville to Chicago. Bud thought it was a good idea to get on the train, so he agreed to acutance Bugs on the journey. The next day, Bugs and Bud asked for directions to get to the town called Hooper Ville. Once they got directions, they headed out to the city. Once they got there, it didn’t look like what they expected. A man told them that this was the Hooper Ville of Flint. Bugs and Bud thought they got the wrong directions, but there was a train that was heading from there to Chicago at five in the morning. So, they decided to stay. They had to do their equal share of work. So after everyone was done eating dinner, they had to clean the dishes. Bud helped this girl named Desha Malone wash a pair of dishes, while Bugs and this other boy washed the other pair. Desha kept asking Bud different questions and holding his hand in the river. Then, she leaned in to kiss him. Bud was very happy after he got his first kiss. He practiced kissing on his hand before, but he never imagined kissing a real girl. The next morning, Bugs woke up Bud and told him that the train had arrived. Bud grabbed his suitcase and followed Bugs and other men and boys to the train. There was a group of police men that said that anyone who got on that train would get shot. Some men were saying that they needed to provide food for their family, and the police men said they needed to the same thing. But, the police men just gave up and the men and boys jumped on the train. Bud tried to run as fast as he could. Bugs ordered Bud to throw his suitcase to him. When Bud couldn’t run any faster, the train just left, and his suitcase lied on the tracks. Bu was surprised nothing fell out. So, he went back to the library and told himself that he was going to head out for Chicago in the morning.

Bud woke up extra early to go to Chicago. It was two in the morning when Bud arrived in Owosso, Michigan. When cars would pass by, the person driving the car wouldn’t even see Bud. When a car passed Bud, it stopped and pulled over to the side of the rode. Bud quickly ran to a bush and hid there. The man knew his eyes didn’t fool him and he kept calling and whistling to let bud know that there was someone there. When the man offered to give Bud some food, he couldn’t resist. So, he got out from behind the bushes, and the man went to his car and brought back a brown paper bag and a soda. Bud sat by the man while he ate a sandwich and an apple. The man asked Bud why he was out there so early in the morning on the side of the rode. Bud knew he had to lie in order to get to Grand Rapids. So he told the man that he ran away from home in Grand Rapids. The man believed Bud and asked him who his mother and father was. Bud told him his mother died and that his father was Herman E. Calloway. The man told Bud to get in the car and said that he would send a telegram to his father. Bud told the man that he left his suitcase near the bushes. The man and Bud walked to the bushes and went back to the car. The man opened the passenger door for Bud. When Bud got in the car, he saw a box that was labeled “Urgent: Contains Human Blood”. Bud knew only one thing, the man was a vampire! Bud decided to get away from this guy because he wasn’t going to let him suck his blood. So he locked the doors, got in the drivers set, and drove the car. When the car stopped, the man told Bud to open the door. Bud asked the man why he had a box of blood in the car. The man said that it was for a hospital in Flint. The man told Bud to call him Lefty Lewis. Bud knew that in order to avoid any of his questions, he would have to go to sleep. So, he let out a big yawn, grabbed his blanket, and fell asleep. When Lefty Lewis woke up Bud, they were almost to the house. When Bud and Lefty Lewis arrived at the house, they both walked inside. Lefty’s daughter greeted Bud and Lefty, and she told them that she was cooking breakfast. She told Bud to go upstairs and put on some old handy downs and she would wash his clothes for him. Bud hung on to his dirty underwear because he felt uncomfortable about someone else looking at his underwear. When Bud went downstairs, there were five plates and five glasses on the kitchen table. There were two kids sitting at the table. When Bud sat down, the two kids introduced themselves. The girl, Kim, kept asking Bud so many questions, then she stopped once her brother, Scott, said he would tell momma that she was bothering Bud. When Lefty Lewis’s daughter came to the dining room, she had pancakes, sausages, toast, and a big glass of orange juice. Everyone started to eat. After breakfast, Lefty’s daughter cleaned the dishes. Lefty Lewis took Bud with him to run some errands. Bud was relieved when Lefty said that they were going back home. But the day wasn’t going to end nice once the cops instructed Lefty to pullover on the side of the rode. Lefty Lewis told Bud to push a box under his seat. When the cops came to the car, they asked Lefty a couple of questions. Then, they let him go. Bud asked Lefty what was in the box. So, he told Bud to open it for himself. Bud really didn’t want to, but Lefty insisted. When Bud opened the box, it was nothing but a bunch of flyers. When Bud read them, he asked Lefty Lewis why they were so important. Lefty said that he’s been negotiating to get a union for the Pullman porters for years now and no one In Grand Rapids would print the flyers for him. Lefty Lewis told Bud to keep the information on the flyers a secret. So, Bud agreed to keep the information a secret. When Lefty Lewis woke up Bud, they were outside a log cabin. Lefty asked Bud if this was the right address, and Bud said yes. Then, Bud grabbed his suitcase and thanked Lefty Lewis for driving him there. When Bud walked inside the cabin, there was another door he had to open. Once he opened the second door, he heard talking. When he walked farther in the cabin, he saw a group of men on a stage. When Bud heard exaggeration coming from a man in a black suit and he had a bald head, he knew it had to be his father. When a man, Mr. Jimmy, spotted Bud he asked him why he was there. Bud said that Herman E. Calloway was his father. The men looked surprised. They couldn’t believe what they just heard. One of the men asked Bud if he had any family members. When he asked Bud who his father was, he said Herman E. Calloway. A man asked Bud if he would like to go to the Sweet Pea with them for lunch. Bud couldn’t wait to eat in a restaurant. Bud rode with four men in a Packard. The names of the band members were Doug ‘The Thug’ Tennant, the drummer; Steady Eddie Patrick, the saxophone player; Chug ‘Doo- Doo Bug’ Cross, the trombone player; and Roy ‘Dirty Deed’ Breed, the pianist. The Thug suggested that Bud should go up to Herman and give him a hug and plant a big kiss on that shiny dome of his. The other members of the band didn’t think that was such a great idea. Bud didn’t even agree with that idea either. There was a table that had a sign on it that said ‘NBC’ which meant nothing but Calloway. Everyone sat down, and Bud met a woman named Miss Thomas, who was the singer of the group. She had six rings on her fingers that when you look at them you could become blind. The Sweet Pea looked like someone’s living room that was fixed up with some chairs and tables. Everyone was laughing and having a great time. Steady Eddie was the very first person Bud saw that could eat, talk, sneeze, laugh, and drink while still holding a toothpick in his mouth. Since Bud was laughing so hard, a rusty screw loosened inside of him. Tears started running down his face. He felt so embarrassed that he hid his face under his napkin. Miss Thomas pulled Bud to her and he sat on her lap. She told him “It’s ok. Its ok Bud, go ahead and cry, your home now." When everyone was done eating at the Sweet Pea, the band drove to a huge house called Grand Calloway Station. Miss Thomas showed Bud to his room. She said that a little girl used to have the room, but she was gone now. Bud knew that gone really meant dead. On one side of the room there was a bed with a window that had curtains on it; on the other side there were two little doors; the space in between the two doors had a chair and a little table with a large round mirror on it; next to the bed there was a table with a lamp that had a black horse on the lamp shade. Bud thought a ghost was going to come out the two little doors, so he layd a chair on one of the door knobs. Herman banged the room door open and saw Bud sitting on the bed. He went towards the two doors, pulled the chair on the door knob away, and locked them. Then he whispered to Bud “You’ve got the rest of them fooled, but not me. There’s something about you that I don’t like. I’m going to find out what your game is. Believe you me, scamp, you’re going back where you belong”

Herman told Bud not to snoop around or steal anything because he knew if something was missing because a bell went off that only he could hear. That’s when Bud was reminded about the swimming trips to the YMCA. The lifeguard would always say that if a red cloud is around you then you’re going to jail. Once a red cloud was around you that meant that you just relieved yourself in the pool. Bud wasn’t afraid of Herman at all. When Bud got in the bed, it felt like he was on a cloud. He had never slept on a bed that had two sheets on it. Bud fell asleep quickly. Then he thought about a story that his mother use to read to him. He didn’t care about the ghost anymore. Bud had been living in the Grand Calloway Station for a while. As a gift, one of the band members gave Bud his old saxophone case so he wouldn’t have to use his old suitcase anymore and they gave him a brown, skinny, wooden flute! One day while the band was practicing, Herman gave Bud chores to do. Bud didn’t mind doing the chores because he did every job very quickly. When the band started practicing a song, Bud loved it. It felt like Miss Thomas and Steady Eddie were talking. Bud clapped after the performance. One of the band members suggested that Bud ride back to the house with Herman. Bud knew that whoever came up with that idea was downright crazy. Herman just said okay, and he started loading the instruments into the car. When Bud was done loading the instruments in the car, there was a rock on the ground. Herman told Bud to pick it up. When they got in the car, Bud asked Herman what he was going to do with a rock. Herman just said he was going to do something. When Bud opened the glove compartment, there were a bunch of rocks that had a date and location on them. Then, Bud put the rocks back where he found them. Bud told Herman he had the exact same rocks. Herman doubted it. Bud waited for Herman to ask to see his rocks. When they arrived at the house, Bud thought he waited long enough. When Bud showed Herman the rocks, he got mad. Herman was accusing Bud of stealing rocks from the house. Herman kept asking him where he got those rocks. Mr. Jimmy asked Bud who gave him the rocks. Bud said his momma did. R. Jimmy then asked Bud where his mother got the rocks. Bud said he didn’t know where she got them; she just always had them with her. Mr. Jimmy asked Bud what his mother’s name was. Bud was never asked that question, so he didn’t say. Herman yelled at Bud and asked what her name was. Bud Screamed and said “Angela. Angela Janet Caldwell.” Herman blinked in shock. Bud said he knew that Herman E. Calloway was his father. Mr. Jimmy squatted to Bud’s height and said that Herman wasn’t his father. He was probably his grandfather. The one thing Bud was relieved about was that he Herman was not his father. Ever since Herman heard the name of Bud’s mother, he locked himself in his room. Mr. Jimmy and Miss Thomas made Bud sit at the kitchen table while they went upstairs to check on Herman. They kept saying his name softly, and then they started to say it louder. He was not answering.
After a while, they just gave up and went back downstairs into the kitchen. They sat down at the kitchen with Bud. Mr. Jimmy asked Bud if he was sure, his mother’s name was Angela Janet. Bud said yes. Mr. Jimmy made sure that Angela’s last name was the same as Bud's last name. Bud spelt it out for him. Mr. Jimmy finally believed Bbd and he asked him how his mother died and how long ago was her death. Bud told him that she died peacefully and that she died four years ago. Mr. Jimmy asked Bud what his mother looked like. Miss Thomas did not know what Mr. Jimmy was insisting because Bud was only six when she died. Bud said that she was really pretty, tall, and skinny like he was. He said that he had a picture of her so he went upstairs to get it out his suitcase. When Bud went upstairs to get the picture, Herman’s door was cracked. Bud sneaked in his room quietly. All you could hear was Herman crying and making sorrowful noises. Bud took two baby steps backwards out of the room. After Bud got the picture out of his sax case, he walked back in Herman’s room and put his hand on his shoulder. Then, real American words came out his mouth. When he accidentally called Bud Buddy, Bud corrected him. Then, he put his face in his hands again. Bud went back downstairs and showed Miss Thomas and Mr. Jimmy the picture of his mother. Miss Thomas asked Bud if he was sure that that was his mother. Like always, he said yes. Even Mr. Jimmy agreed that was Angela Janet Calloway. Miss Thomas told Bud that Herman was hard on her because he wanted the best for her and that he expected her to go to school and have a great life. However, the more Herman was hard on her, the more she fought him. Then she just left. People thought she ran off with one of Herman's drummers. For eleven years, they were hoping that they would see her again.

Miss Thomas said that she had to go upstairs and get something. When she came back downstairs, she was holding an iron frame with a picture of his mother in it. “I’ve had this photo on my dresser for sixteen years,” said Miss Thomas. She gave the picture to Bud. Miss Thomas’s eyes looked stingy. She told Bud that they were going to have to give Herman some time to fill better. Mr. Jimmy came downstairs and told Miss Thomas that Herman wanted her. She went upstairs to check on him. Doo- Doo Bug came into the kitchen and said “Hey SleepyLabone,” which was the nickname that Bud was given because he was a heavy sleeper and because he was very skinny. Then, Steady Eddie came into the kitchen. He said that he had another surprise for Bud. He put and old cardboard suitcase on the table. When Bud opened the suitcase, he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a saxophone like Steady Eddie’s! It had a dent in it and some rust, but overall it was still good. Then Steady Eddie gave Bud a can of Brasso and a pink rag to clean the saxophone. Bud went upstaris to polish his saxophone. He saw that Herman’s door was cracked open and Miss Thomas’s door was closed. They were both in Hermans room crying. Bud went to his room, grabbed the flyers, and rocks on his dresser. Then, Bud went back into his mother’s room and grabbed a thumbtack. He got the picture of his mother out the envelope and stuck it on the wall where all the pictures of the ponies were. Bud knew he didn’t have to carry that picture around with him. Bud grabbed the rock he had from Flint, and he put it in his sax case. Bud was carrying his mother in his heart, and he didn’t need a lot of items to remember her. Then, Bud started to practice blowing his saxophone. I really had a lot of fun making this scroll. I think Bud, not Buddy is the best book we have read so far. Even though there were so many words repeated in the story, the book turned out to be great. I liked this book because it was very funny and I laughed while reading every chapter. I chose the scroll option because I could very creative with this project.