Bud, Not Buddy is a wonderful resource to use in the classroom. This book would be great because it is from the point of view of a ten year old boy who is living in the Great Depression. Bud, is left homeless after his mother dies and is placed in an orphanage. Unfortunately, this orphanage is not the best place to live and the foster home he is placed in is much worse. After sleeping in a shed to being beaten by his foster brother, Bud finally has enough of the abuse and sneaks away. He begins on a journey to find his "father" and along the way has quite an adventure. In the end Bud finds peace with his final home and can at last feel safe. Using this in the classroom would be quite easy especially when interesting a young, reluctant reader. Introducing the Great Depression and discussing Hoovervilles would incorporate history into literacy as well. During reading and language arts the class could discuss the elements of the story and correct spelling of words used in the text. Since this story is from the point of view of a ten year old, this would be easy for the students to read on their own and also keep them interested. In my opinion, Bud, Not Buddy should be an great read for a fifth grade student. Bud, Not Buddy is a 950L on the Lexile Leveling system.
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