Christopher Paul Curtis Set of 5 Award Winning Paperbacks Includes the Madman of Piney Woods, the Watsons Go to Birmingham, Bud, Not Buddy, Elijah of Buxton & the Mighty Miss Malone

by Christopher Paul Curtis (Foreword)

Master storyteller and Newbery Medal author Christopher Paul Curtis lends his trademark humor and vibrant narrative style to five can't-miss middle grade novels.

Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

About the author

Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan on May 10, 1953 to Dr. Herman Elmer Curtis, a chiropodist, and Leslie Jane Curtis, an educator. The city of Flint plays an important role in many of Curtis's books. One such example is Bucking the Sarge, which is about a fifteen year old boy named Luther T. Ferrel, who is in a running battle with his slum-lord mother. Curtis is an alumnus of the University of Michigan-Flint.

Curtis is the father of two children, Steven, an ensign in the United States Navy, and Cydney, a college student and accomplished pianist. His third child is expected to make an appearance in 2011. Christopher modeled characters in Bud, Not Buddy after his two grandfathers—Earl “Lefty” Lewis, a Negro league baseball pitcher, and 1930s bandleader Herman E. Curtis, Sr., of Herman Curtis and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression.

Curtis moved to Detroit, Michigan in January, 2009

Reviews

[Kiron Meyers]

Christopher Paul Curtis
Bud, Not Buddy is a hilarious, heartbreaking tale of a motherless boy finding home. He is beat up by a horrible foster brother, locked in a shed, and attacked by wasps, but no matter what happens, he doesn't become embittered, and this Great Depression-era novel will make laughs, create tears, and teach children about history. Also Bud has run away from his abusive foster family. He's sleeping outside and can't find enough to eat. There's nothing left to do but go find Herman E. Calloway, the man whose picture used to make Momma upset. That man has got to be Bud's father! Orphaned Bud, not Buddy, Caldwell carries a ratty suitcase full of all his possessions wherever he goes. There's the picture of his Momma as a little girl. There's Momma's old pouch, full of smooth rocks with strange coded messages written on them. But the most important thing is a flyer advertising "Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression."

[Livvy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the stories connect!