Bud, Not Buddy Characters

Like the song says, all you need is love, right? Bud certainly does. He misses his momma and wishes he knew his dad. He's not getting much love in either the orphanage or any of his foster homes, s...

The Mean Old CootThis old timer is all business. He is a musician and is famous all over Grand Rapids, Michigan, for playing a mean bass fiddle. Mr. C is a tough customer, and he sure is stubborn....

What Would Lefty Do?Just try to find a kinder man than Lefty Lewis.Lefty is an unusual guy because he's so understanding and forgiving. This is what makes him such a savior for Bud: he's just what...

Sing it, Miss T.Miss Thomas is the singer in Calloway's jazz band. She's been in the band for a long time and probably helped raise Bud's mother Angela. She's like family to the band members and, l...

The Girl Next DoorBud's first kiss!Well, there's more to Deza than that, but romance is certainly one exciting thing she brings to the story. We only see Deza for a few pages, but she plays an impo...

Although she is dead throughout this story, Bud's mother plays a major part in Bud's quest to find his father. She has also been a big influence on Bud's approach to living. Momma (as Bud calls her...

This kid is a real bully. He abuses every poor foster kid that comes through the house. As he tells Bud when he sticks a pencil up the poor kid's nose, "I've never gotten it in as deep the N on any...

Mr. Amos is the strong, silent type. He's really just an extension of Mrs. Amos, so we'll focus on her. Mrs. Amos is Bud's second pain in the neck (the first being her darling son Todd), and she's...

Most of the fellows in the band are minor characters and kind of move around together in a group. They are fun-loving, trash-talking, musical masters. They are good at what they do. They have to be...

So, Bugs. No, not the bunny. This Bugs is an orphan who's an expert traveler, having already ridden the rails west and back. Bud meets him in the Home and remembers him mostly because a cockroach o...

When the Hooverville men make for the train in their desperate attempt to save their families from starvation, a row of eight railroad police stand guard. They look pretty intimidating at first, an...

This bunch of castaways are destitute but still know how to take care of themselves and never turn away a hungry mouth if they can feed it. This is a hospitable, and equitable, community. There is...

This is a minor character in the beginning of the book that gets pulled aside with Bud and told to pack up to go to a new foster home. Jerry is mainly there to show how kind and attentive Bud is. W...

She is kind, thoughtful, and excited about books and learning, just like a good librarian ought to be. But this one goes even further by singling out Bud to help him find his way, literally and fig...

Not only does this character provide a nice atmosphere but he also is the main person to talk to the boys and answer their questions about Hoovervilles and the history behind them. He is patient an...

This character is all good. Really, she is giving and a big help to Bud. She doesn't do much except for offer Bud new clothes and good food and a warm, clean, safe place to sleep one night. One mai...

This character is very minor. She is simply there to do her job and pick up Bud and Jerry to take them to their new homes. She does serve a purpose for the reader and helps fill out the setting a b...

The saxophone player in Herman E. Calloway's band, The Nubian Knights of the New Deal, Steady Eddie is a good natured and kind-hearted character.Steady Eddie is like the big brother Bud never had....

The Sweet Pea is the best place in town to eat, but to Bud, it is the best place in the whole world. And the waitress adds to the atmosphere by being generous and giving Bud a free slice of pie, an...