Overview
For thirteen years, Christopher Paul Curits made a good living at the Fisher Auto Body Plant in Flint, Michigan. Day in and day out, he hung doors on automobiles as they came down the line. He could support his family very well on his job, but the boredom was killing him. One day his wife, who was a nurse, offered to support the family while Christopher took a year off to work on a children's book. The result, The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963, would change his life. Published by Delacorte, it soon became an award winner. After his second book, Bud, Not Buddy was released and also became an award winner, Christopher Paul Curtis was able to do something he had always wanted. Write full-time. Today, this talented writer is hard at work on a new bookSynopsis
For thirteen years, Christopher Paul Curits made a good living at the Fisher Auto Body Plant in Flint, Michigan. Day in and day out, he hung doors on automobiles as they came down the line. He could support his family very well on his job, but the boredom was killing him. One day his wife, who was a nurse, offered to support the family while Christopher took a year off to work on a children's book. The result, The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963, would change his life. Published by Delacorte, it soon became an award winner. After his second book, Bud, Not Buddy was released and also became an award winner, Christopher Paul Curtis was able to do something he had always wanted. Write full-time. Today, this talented writer is hard at work on a new book
Children's Literature
Christopher Paul Curtis, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award for Bud, Not Buddy, has led a very interesting life and has shown that anyone can change his/her life for the better if he/she has the courage to take the plunge. Born in Flint Michigan in 1953, Curtis' parents were avid readers who instilled the same love of reading in their children. Although Curtis dropped out of college after only one year, he did not let his lack of higher education defeat him. He worked for many years on an assembly line, but he always knew that he wanted more. He continued to enter writing contests and began taking college courses about writing. He won several university writing contests, and with the support of his family, decided it was time to devote himself full time to writing. It was a terrible risk, but one he was willing to take. The result was his first novel for young people, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. Curtis did not have money for an agent, but instead submitted the manuscript to a publishing company's annual contest. Curtis won the contest, and his first novel was published. Curtis still enjoys reading and visiting bookstores and libraries on promotion tours. Curtis is a very inspiring individual and shares his inspirations with people of all ages through his writing and his book tours. Part of the "A Read-Life Reader Biography" series. 2001, Mitchell Lane, $15.95. Ages 7 to 12. Reviewer: Danielle Williams