Christopher Paul Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan, on May 10, 1953, to Dr. Herman Elmer Curtis, a chiropodist and factory worker/supervisor, and Leslie Jane Curtis, an educator. He has set many of his books in Flint.
Curtis attended Dewey Elementary, Clark Elementary, Pierce Elementary (in the Academically Gifted Program), Whittier Junior High School, and McKinley Junior High School of the Flint Public School System. (In 1967, he was the first African-American student to be elected to the student council in the school's 32-year history). He graduated from Flint Southwestern High School in 1972 at the age of 19. Returning to college after working for years, he graduated from the University of Michigan–Flint in 2000.
The summer after graduating from high school, Curtis became a member of a Lansing-based theatrical/musical group called Suitcase Theater. The group was directed by Powell Lindsay and performed musical numbers and the works of Langston Hughes. The group performed in Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Canada, and the United States.
Meet the author christopher paul curtis
Work and writing career
Curtis spent 13 years after high school working on the assembly line of Flint's Fisher Body Plant #1. His job entailed hanging car doors on Electra 225s and LeSabres. He later claimed his experience left him with an aversion to getting into large cars, particularly Buicks. After quitting Fisher Body, he took a series of low-paying jobs. He worked as a groundskeeper at Stonegate Manor housing cooperative in Flint, served as the Flint campaign co-manager for United States Senator Donald Riegle, as customer service representative for Mich Con in Detroit, temporary worker for Manpower in Detroit, and warehouse clerk for Automated Data Processing in Allen Park, Michigan.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 (1996) – When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, the Watsons head from Flint, Michigan, to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit Grandma Sands, the one person who can shape Byron up. But the events that shake Birmingham in the summer of 1963 will change Kenny's life forever. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal and was selected as a top book of the year by many publications and organizations. In 2013, it was named as one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Great Children's Books of the Last 100 Years.
Bud, Not Buddy (1999) – It is 1936 in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but he has a few things going for him. Bud goes to find who he believes is his father, a man named Herman E. Calloway. He meets a few friends on the way, and stays determined to achieve his goals. Curtis modeled characters in Bud, Not Buddy after his two grandfathers: Earl "Lefty" Lewis, a Negro league baseball pitcher, and Herman E. Curtis, leader of Herman Curtis and the Dusky Devastators during the Great Depression. Bud, Not Buddy won the 2000 Newbery Medal.It also won the Coretta Scott King Award, and was chosen as the best book of the year by the School Library Journal.
Bucking the Sarge (2004) – Luther T. Farrell has got to get out of Flint, Michigan. He just needs to escape the evil empire of the local slumlord, "The Sarge", aka his mother. Bucking the Sarge was selected as one of the best children's books of the year by various publications and organizations, including Publishers Weekly.
Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission (2008) – When Russell's dog, Rodney Rodent, jumps into a mural to chase a demonic-looking gnome and disappears, the Flint Future Detectives are on the case.
Mr. Chickee's Funny Money (2007) – Mr. Chickeesaw, the genial blind man in the neighborhood, gives 9-year-old Steven a mysterious bill with 15 zeros on it and the image of a familiar but startling face. Mr. Chickee's Funny Money was a Parents' Choice Award winner.
Elijah of Buxton (2007) – A story based on the historic settlement of North Buxton, Ontario, developed for and by former African-American slaves who escaped to Canada on the Underground Railroad. In Canada they were known as Negro refugees. Elijah of Buxton was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal and won the Coretta Scott King Award among other awards.
The Mighty Miss Malone (2012) – This book is set in Depression-era Gary, Indiana, and Flint, Michigan. The work is a spin-off from Bud, Not Buddy.
The Madman of Piney Woods (October 2014) – This book returns readers to Buxton, Ontario, this time in 1901. It is told in alternating chapters, by two twelve-year-old boys. Alvin "Red" Stockard is an Irish boy living in nearby Chatham, Ontario, and Benjamin "Benji" Alston, is a Black Canadian boy who lives in the settlement of Buxton; he is a descendant of African-American slaves who reached freedom in Canada via the Underground Railroad. Several characters from Elijah of Buxton make brief appearances in this work.
Curtis also edited Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into, a collection of scary children's stories published in 2010 by Scholastic. SpongeBob SquarePants
Awards, honors, and nominations
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
Coretta Scott King Honor Book
Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year
New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year
California Young Reader Medal winner
Maine Student Book Award winner
American Library Association (ALA) Best Books for Young Adults
ALA Notable Children's Book
Horn Book Fanfare
Texas Lone Star Reading List title
Bank Street College Best Book of the Year
Massachusetts Children's Book Award winner
NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the field of Language Arts
New Mexico Land of Enchantment Book Award winner
Arkansas Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award winner
Society of Children's Book Writers and illustrators Golden Kite Award winner
New York Times' Top One Hundred Books of the Year, 1996 (the only book for young readers to be so honored)
Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book
American Library Association Top Ten Best Book/Quick Pick
International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society
Indiana Department of Education Read Aloud List Book
Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books Blue Ribbon
Booklist Top 25 Black History Picks for Youth Book
International Reading Association Young Adult Choice
1995 Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award
New Mexico Land of Enchantment Book Award winner
Top Choice List of 2000 for Children's Literature
Virginia Young Reader's Program book
Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award nominee
Nevada Young Reader Award nominee
Nebraska Golden Sower Award nominee
Missouri Mark Twain Award nominee
Minnesota Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award nominee
Michigan Reading Association Children's Choice Award nominee
Kansas William Allen White Award nominee
Illinois Rebecca Caudill Award nominee
Hawaii Nene Award nominee
USBBY Janusz Korzak Literary Prize nominee
New Hampshire Great Stoneface Book Award nominee
Tennessee Volunteer State Award nominee
South Carolina Junior Book Award nominee
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award nominee
Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award nominee
Oklahoma Sequoyah Young Adult Book Award nominee
2013 - named by the New York Public Library as one of the 100 Great Children's Books in the Last 100 Years
Bud, Not Buddy
2000 Newbery Medal winner (first African-American man to win the award)
2000 Coretta Scott King Author Award winner
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
International Readers Association (IRA) Children's Book Award for Older Readers
NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year
ALA Best Books for Young Adults
ALA Notable Children's Book
New York Times Notable Book
Bulletin for The Center of Children's Books Blue Ribbon book
Arizona Young Readers Award winner (Teen category)
Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award
Virginian Capitol Choices List
Massachusetts Children's Book Award Honor Book
New Mexico Book of Enchantment Book Award winner
Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award winner
Young Reader's Choice Award
Sugar Maple Awards winner Grades 4-6
Hawaii Nene Award winner
Kentucky Bluegrass Award winner
Kansas William White Award winner
Tennessee Volunteer State Award winner
South Dakota Prairie Pasque Award winner
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award winner
Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award winner
SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner
Great Lakes Booksellers Association Children's Chapter Book Award winner
Booklist Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth
Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award nominee
Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book nominee
South Carolina Junior Book Award nominee
Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Award nominee
Wisconsin Golden Archer Book Award nominee
Ohio Buckeye Children's Book Award Grade 6-8 nominee
North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award nominee
Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee
Mr. Chickee's Funny Money
Parent's Choice Gold Award winner
Bucking the Sarge
ALA Best Books for Young Adults
ALA Notable Children's Book
Great Lakes Booksellers Association Children's Chapter Book Award
Booklist Children's Editors Choice Award
USA Today Best Young Adult Book
SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Fiction Honor Book
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Texas Tayhas High School Reading List title
Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
Elijah of Buxton
Newbery Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Award winner
School Library Journal Best Book
Parent's Choice Gold Award winner
IRA Notable Book for a Global Society
Publisher's Weekly Best Book
Booklist Editor's Choice
Scott O'Dell Award winner
Kirkus Best Book
Horn Book Fanfare Book
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book
Booklinks Lasting Connections Book
TD Canadian Children's Literature Award winner
Governor General's Award Children's Text finalist
Canadian Library Association Book of the Year
NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
White Ravens by the International Youth Library of 2008, German Award
Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People Award winner
Jane Addams Peace Association of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Book for Older Children Honor Award
Great Lakes Book Sellers Association's Children's Chapter Book Award