Hello, I am Christopher Paul Curtis (CPC)

Hey, that peanut head little boy is not Christopher Paul Curtis (CPC)! Ok, yes it is. Here is a better picture where he has the Denzel look going.


He was born in Flint, Michigan, in 1953, the second of five children. His father, Herman E. Curtis, was a chiropodist (foot doctor), and his mother, Leslie, who attended Michigan State, was a homemaker. Due to economical and social issues, Dr. Curtis had to stop practicing medicine, and went to work at the Fisher Body plant. When CPC graduated from high school in 1971 he went to work on the assembly line with him. CPC was accepted at the University of Michigan-Flint, so it was supposed to be just a summer job, but the money was too good. He spent the next thirteen years on the assembly line, hanging eighty-pound car doors on Buicks, going to school at night and working toward his degree part time. CPC mother was so happy when he finally completed his degree, in the year of 2000.

Christopher contributes most of his success to his family, especially his wife Kaysandra. While dating, he used to write her letters about his job, family, and friends, and Kay said, “You’re good at this. You could be a writer.” So while working at Fisher Body, He, along with a coworker ,worked out a plan. Instead of them taking turns hang every other door, they decided each one would hang every door for half an hour while the other took a half-hour break. Christopher used this time to write as a way to escape the noise and boredom of the automobile factory. During this time, he married Kaysandra and they had two children, Steven and Cydney. Ok, it was delightful talking about CPC to all of you. I will provide some more history on this SUPER-DUPER creative and versatile author soon enough. I can only hope that my words do him the justice he deserves.

Kaysandra , Christopher's wife , encouraged him to quit his job at the plant and focus on writing full time. He took full advantage of this situation by approaching his writing as a job. He would wake up early in the morning and go to the children's section of the public library for creative motivation. He would spend hours upon hours reading and writing, which to him was great because he loved to write. CPC was not a prolific typist, so he reach out to his family for assistance. Steven, his son, volunteered to help by typing all his handwritten material--just another example on how Christopher's family provided the required support for him to be successful as an author.

I will discuss 2 of Christopher's books: Bud,Not Buddy, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money. These books are very different,they will provide insight on how CPC is so versatile, imaginative and capturing to readers of all ages. For a closer personal look into CPC, here are 2 interviews conducted by Tavis Smiley and Al Rooker. Enjoy! CPC and Tavis Smiley, Al Book Club