Use this guide to explore the story of Bud, an orphan during the Great Depression, who journeys to find a musician he believes is his father. This instructional guide for literature features several challenging cross-curricular lessons and activities to work in conjunction with the text to help students analyze and comprehend literature. This guide is packed with ways to practice close reading, determine meaning through text-dependent questions, and practice text-based vocabulary, making it the perfect tool to teach students how to analyze story elements in various ways. Add rigor to your students' explorations of rich and complex literature while supporting Common Core Learning Standards.