Christopher Paul Curtis is an American writer of children's books. He is known for the Newbery Medal-winning Bud, Not Buddy and the critically acclaimed The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. The latter was adapted for a TV movie of the same name, which aired on the Hallmark Channel in 2013.
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 , Whittier Junior High School, and McKinley Junior High School of the Flint Public School System. . 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.
Source: Bud, Not Buddy
