Seventh Grade Summer Reading
Dear Seventh Grade Students,
Summer reading assignments are meant for you to enjoy books, your
imagination, and explore new ideas. In order to launch our Reading Workshop
and Literature Circle groups in September, each student will be required to
read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. The story’s protagonist, Bud,
might remind you of yourself or someone you might even know! Read about his
rules and see how they can apply in today’s world.
Be sure to go to local library or bookstore as soon as possible! The
completion of the packet will be counted toward your first trimester average.
Just remember, a good reader always stops and thinks about what he or she is
reading. Use the comprehension questions as a way to guide your
understanding of this novel! Please see the attached comprehension questions
and book review for more information.
Reading is food for the brain! Be sure to read as much as you can over the
summer! Be sure to choose books that you will enjoy! I look forward to
discussing this novel with you in September!
Happy Reading!
Ms. McCann
BUD, NOT BUDDY COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Chapter 1
1. Why do you think Bud’s eyes don’t cry anymore?
2. Why do you think Bud feels age 6 is the point when you start turning into an adult?
2. Who does Bud think his father is? Why?
Chapter 2
1. Think of a time in your life when you have felt like it was impossible to win so you quit.
Explain.
2. Explain Bud’s rule of lying.
3. Why do you think Bud does not beg and plead to be let out of the shed?
Chapter 3:
1. Who is Bud mad at? Why?
2. What do you think Bud is going to do?
Chapter 4:
1. Explain the saying “He who laughs last laughs best.”
Chapter 5:
1. Do you think a new door will be opening for Bud? Explain.
Chapter 6:
1. Why do you think the couple pretended Bud was their son in the food line?
2. Explain the irony behind the “No Place Like America Today” billboard being placed where
it was.
Chapter 7
1. What does “kicking the bucket” mean?
2. What do you think Miss Hill would have done for Bud?
Chapter 8:
1. Why does Bugs want to head West?
3. What’s wrong with “Heads I win, tails you lose.”?
Chapter 9:
1. Do you think Bud is on the right path? Explain.
Chapter 10:
1. Who do you think the man was that stopped?
2. Do you think the man would have hurt or helped Bud? Explain.
Chapter 11
1. Why do you think Bud is such a light sleeper?
2. Explain why eating with the Sleets was so strange for Bud.
Chapter 12
1. Why do you think the factory owners are afraid of unions?
2. What do you think Herman E. Calloway will do?
Chapter 13:
1. Do you think Herman E. Calloway is really Bud’s father? Explain.
Chapter 14:
1. Why do you think Bud started crying so hard?
Chapter 15:
1. Who do you think the little girl was? Explain.
Chapter 16:
1. What do you think the band talked about late into the night? Explain.
2. How did Bud’s new name make him feel?
Bud, Not Buddy Chapter 17
1. Describe how the music made Bud feel.
Chapter 18
1. Why does Mr. C always have one white guy in the band?
2. Why did Mr. C get upset when he heard Bud’s mother’s name?
3. Who is Bud to Mr. C?
Bud, Not Buddy Chapter 19
1. Why did Bud give his Mother’s rocks and flyers to Mr. C?
2. Why did Bud unpack his suitcase?
Bud, Not Buddy Writing Assessment
Please respond to the following essay question in two-three complete paragraphs.
Focusing question: How does Bud use his “rules” to help him: to survive or
to thrive?
In the novel Bud, Not Buddy, the main character, Bud Caldwell, creates a set
of rules to live by that he calls “Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Making a
Funner Life and Making a Better Liar out of Yourself.” These rules are Bud’s
response to his life experiences.
Be sure to:
• Write an introduction that presents your claim. • Select three of Bud’s rules to support your claim. • Use relevant and specific text evidence, including direct quotations, to
support your claim. • Explain how your evidence supports your claim. • Use transitional words and phrases to make your writing cohesive and
logical. Recall:
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Indent each new paragraph
5-7 complete sentences
Script or typed (Times New Roman, Size 12, Double-spaced)
Topic and Concluding Sentences for each paragraph