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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
Mild period-appropriate danger; a child alone on the road in Depression-era Michigan
Language
None
No profanity; Curtis's warm and funny narrative voice
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
The emotional weight of an orphan searching for family and belonging — and finding both in unexpected places — is the novel's generous heart
What this book is about
Christopher Paul Curtis's Newbery Medal-winning novel follows Bud Caldwell, a ten-year-old orphan in 1930s Flint, Michigan, who runs away from his latest foster home to find the man he believes is his father — Herman E. Calloway, a jazz bandleader. Curtis writes with warmth, humor, and sharp historical awareness of the Depression and its particular weight on Black Americans. One of the great middle-grade novels. Appropriate for all ages.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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