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.About Shell Education Rachelle Cracchiolo started the company with a friend and fellow teacher. Both were eager to share their ideas and passion for education with other classroom leaders. What began as a hobby, selling lesson plans to local stores, became a part-time job after a full day of teaching, and eventually blossomed into Teacher Created Materials. The story continued in 2004 with the launch of Shell Education and the introduction of professional resources and classroom application books designed to support Teacher Created Materials curriculum resources. Today, Teacher Created Materials and Shell Education are two of the most recognized names in educational publishing around the world.