Christopher Paul Curtis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christopher Paul Curtis
|
|
|---|---|
Curtis in 2014
|
|
| Born | May 10, 1953 Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, speaker |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan–Flint |
| Period | 1995–present |
| Genre | Children's literature, especially historical fiction |
| Notable works | |
| Notable awards | Newbery Medal 2000 Coretta Scott King Award 2000, 2008 |
Christopher Paul Curtis (born May 10, 1953) is a famous American author who writes books for kids and young adults. He is known for his amazing stories that often mix humor with serious topics like racism and poverty. His books also help readers learn about important parts of history.
Curtis became well-known very quickly after his first book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, came out in 1995. This book won many awards. In 2000, he made history by being the first person to win both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award for his second book, Bud, Not Buddy. He was also the first African-American man to win the Newbery Medal. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 was even made into a TV movie in 2013.
Christopher Paul Curtis has written eight novels. He has also written introductions for other books and articles for newspapers. After his first two books became so popular, he started the Nobody but Curtis Foundation. This foundation helps kids and young adults in North America and Africa learn to read better.
Curtis grew up in Flint, Michigan. Before becoming a writer, he worked in a car factory for 13 years. He also went to the University of Michigan–Flint part-time and earned his degree in 2000. Teachers often use his books in elementary and middle schools because he tells stories in a way that makes history come alive.
Contents
Early Life and School
Christopher Paul Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan, on May 10, 1953. He was the second of five children. His parents were very important to him. His father worked in a factory and was a union leader. He was also the first Black production foreman at his plant. His mother was a homemaker who later became a teacher. She taught Curtis to love books and reading.
Curtis's parents were also involved in the Civil Rights Movement. They took him and his siblings to marches with the NAACP. Curtis remembers protesting places in Flint that would not serve or hire Black people in the early 1960s.
Curtis went to several schools in Flint. In middle school, he was the first African-American student elected to the student council. He loved reading books like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Bridges of Toko-Ri. He also enjoyed Mad magazine, Sports Illustrated, and comic books. His parents made sure he and his siblings went to the library every Saturday. However, Curtis sometimes found it hard to connect with books because they weren't about Black people like him.
After high school, Curtis joined a theater group called Suitcase Theater. They performed music and plays by Langston Hughes in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Curtis started college at the University of Michigan-Flint but decided to work full-time at a General Motors car factory in 1972. He kept taking classes at night and finally graduated in 2000. In college, he took a Black literature class that introduced him to authors like Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. This class helped him love literature even more and inspired ideas for his own novels.
From Factory Worker to Writer
For 13 years, Curtis worked on the assembly line at a car factory in Flint. His job was to hang heavy car doors for ten hours a day. It was hard and boring work. To make it easier, he and his partner would take turns. One person would hang all the doors for 30 minutes while the other took a break. During his breaks, Curtis would read and write. He really disliked working in the factory, even though it paid well.
After leaving the factory in 1985, he worked several different jobs. These jobs didn't pay as much, but they gave him more time to think about his future.
Becoming an Author
In 1993, Curtis's wife, Kay Sookram, encouraged him to take a year off work to focus on writing. During this time, he took a writing class and entered a contest. He won first place for a novel he wrote, which was an early version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham. He also won for an essay about his time in the car factory.
After winning, Curtis sent his novel to publishing companies. Delacorte Press decided to publish it. At first, the story was about the Watsons going to Florida. But when his son brought home a poem called "The Ballad of Birmingham", Curtis realized that Birmingham would be a much more meaningful place for the Watsons to visit. He changed the ending to include the important historical events in Birmingham.
His first novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, was published in 1995. It won many awards, including the Newbery Honor Book Award and the Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award. The book sold over 300,000 copies and has been translated into 11 languages. It was even made into a TV movie in 2013.
Curtis's second book, Bud, Not Buddy, came out in 1999. It won the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. He got the idea for this story from his grandfather, who traveled around Michigan with a band in the 1930s.
Besides writing books, Curtis visits schools and communities to talk about being an author. He also writes articles for newspapers and magazines. He wrote introductions for new editions of classic books like Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Curtis also started the Nobody but Curtis Foundation. This foundation helps young people learn to read better. It sends educational materials, technology, and other supplies to schools that need them. It also offers scholarships to students.
How He Writes
Christopher Paul Curtis has a special way of writing. He wakes up early, around 5 a.m., to edit what he wrote the day before. Then, he goes to the library around 8 a.m. to write more. In the afternoons, he enjoys his hobbies, and then he writes again in the evenings.
When he first moved to Windsor, Ontario, he used to write in the children's room of the Windsor Public Library. He liked the energy of the kids there. He even got to go in early before the library officially opened.
Curtis writes all his stories by hand. He doesn't usually plan out his stories in detail. Instead, he lets his characters guide him. He says this helps him take his time with each character. He loves authors like Toni Morrison because she writes beautifully about hard topics. He also likes Mark Twain for his humor. Curtis always adds humor to his books, especially when he's writing about serious subjects. He wants readers to feel close to his characters, so he often writes from the first-person point of view (using "I").
Curtis enjoys writing historical fiction because it feels real. It lets him tell important stories that young readers might not know much about. He hopes his books help readers understand how important history is and encourage them to learn more. Many of his books are set in Flint, Michigan, because he uses his own experiences growing up there.
He has four rules for becoming a writer:
- Write every day.
- Have fun with your writing.
- Be patient with your writing.
- Ignore all rules!
Personal Life
Curtis met his first wife, Kay Sookram, in Canada. She was from Trinidad and was studying nursing. They wrote letters to each other, which was how she first saw his writing. After they got married, Curtis moved to Windsor, Ontario, to live with her. They have two children together: Steven Darrell and Cydney McKenzie.
Curtis later married Habon Aden, and they have two children together.
In his free time, Curtis loves playing basketball and listening to jazz and blues music. He finds these activities relaxing. He also enjoys reading, but only when he's not writing. He says that if he reads while writing, the style of the author he's reading might influence his own writing too much.
Published Books
Here are some of the books Christopher Paul Curtis has written:
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 (1995) – This book is about the Watson family from Flint, Michigan. When their older son, Byron, gets into too much trouble, they travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit Grandma Sands. But important events in Birmingham in the summer of 1963 change Kenny's life forever. This book was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal.
- Bud, Not Buddy (1999) – Set in Flint, Michigan, in 1936, this story follows ten-year-old Bud. He is an orphan on the run but has a plan to find his father, a man named Herman E. Calloway. Bud meets many interesting people on his journey. Curtis based characters in this book on his own grandfathers. Bud, Not Buddy won the 2000 Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award.
- Bucking the Sarge (2004) – Luther T. Farrell wants to leave Flint, Michigan. He needs to escape from "The Sarge," who is his mother and a local slumlord. This book was chosen as one of the best children's books of the year.
- Mr. Chickee's Funny Money (2005) – Mr. Chickeesaw, a kind blind man, gives 9-year-old Steven a strange bill with 15 zeros on it and a surprising face. This book won a Parents' Choice Award.
- Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission (2007) – When Russell's dog, Rodney Rodent, disappears into a mural, the Flint Future Detectives are on the case!
- Elijah of Buxton (2007) – This story is about a historic settlement in North Buxton, Ontario. It was created by former African-American slaves who escaped to Canada using the Underground Railroad. Elijah of Buxton won the 2008 Coretta Scott King Award and the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction.
- The Mighty Miss Malone (2012) – This book is set during the Great Depression in Gary, Indiana, and Flint, Michigan. It's a spin-off from Bud, Not Buddy.
- The Madman of Piney Woods (October 2014) – This book takes readers back to Buxton, Ontario, but in 1901. It's told by two 12-year-old boys: Alvin "Red" Stockard, an Irish boy, and Benjamin "Benji" Alston, a Black Canadian boy whose family escaped slavery.
- The Journey of Little Charlie (January 2018) – This is the third book in Curtis's Buxton Trilogy. It starts in 1858 on a plantation in South Carolina. A 12-year-old boy helps catch an escaped slave. He then goes to Canada to try and recapture a slave boy, but a group of African Americans in Buxton stops them. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Curtis also edited Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into, a collection of scary children's stories published in 2010.
Awards and Honors
- Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement (2024)
Awards for Specific Works
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
- Coretta Scott King Honor Book
- Newbery Honor Book
- Jane Addams Peace Award Honor Book
- Bud, Not Buddy
- Newbery Medal winner
- Coretta Scott King Author Award
- Young Reader's Choice Award
- SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner
- Mr. Chickee's Funny Money
- Parent's Choice Gold Award winner
- Bucking the Sarge
- SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Fiction Honor Book
- Elijah of Buxton
- Newbery Honor Book
- Coretta Scott King Award winner
- Scott O'Dell Award
- Canadian Library Association Book of the Year
