Plot
10-yr old Bud(not Buddy) lives in an orphanage after his mother dies when he is 6. He is sent to the Amoses, a foster home where he is beat up by their son, Todd and locked in a shed. After escaping from there, he tries to get help from a librarian, Miss Hill to find out she moved too far for him to travel. He then meets up with Bugs, a boy from the orphanage and travels to Hooverville to try to catch a train out west. When he is unable to get on the train, he decides to go to Grand Rapids, Michigan to find his father, Herman E. Calloway. He meets Lefty Lewis on his way and lies his way into getting a free ride to the club where Herman E. Calloway and his band are. None of them are convinced that he is Herman's kid but they also feel sorry for him and want to keep him around. The band give Bud his own nickname and lets him travel with them. After returning home from a road trip, it is discovered that Bud is actually Mr. Calloway's grandson.