Bub, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis, ISBN # 0-385-32306-9

This is a wonderful story of a thirteen-year-old boy who takes off on his own in search for his father. With the backdrop of the Great Depression, Bud is equipped with a cardboard suitcase and Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. This book is very funny and sad too.