Christopher Paul Curtis Books In Order

Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money

Mr. Chickee, the genial blind man in the neighborhood, gives 9 year old Steven a mysterious bill with 15 zeros on it and the image of a familiar but startling face. Could it be a quadrillion dollar bill? Could it be real? Well, Agent Fondoo of the U.S. Treasury Department and his team of Secret Government Agents are determined to get that money back! But Steven and his best friends, Russell and Zoopy the giant dog, are more than a match for the Feds. After all, Steven is the president of the Flint Future Detectives Club, and the inventor of fantastic spying and detecting equipment such as the Snoopeeze 9000!From the Hardcover edition.

Mr. Chickee’s Messy Mission

Steven and his best friend Russell are back!When Russell’s dog, Rodney Rodent, jumps into a mural to chase a demonic looking gnome and disappears, the Flint Future Detectives are on the case. With the secret password Bow wow wow yippee yo yippee yay! Steven, Richelle, and Russell enter the mural too, only to find the mysterious Mr. Chickee on the other side. To find a way out, the detectives must complete a mission finding Rodney Rodent. And that means they’re in some wild adventure!As Steven says, ‘I second that emotion.’From the Hardcover edition.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963

Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There’s Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, Kenny, and Byron, Kenny’s older brother, who, at thirteen, is an ‘official juvenile delinquent.’

When Momma and Dad decide it’s time for a visit to Grandma, Dad comes home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons set out on a trip like no other. Heading South, they’re going to Birmingham, Alabama, and toward one of the darkest moments in America’s history.

By turns comic, tragic, and touching, this remarkable Newbery Honor work, delightfully performed by LeVar Burton in this unabridged production, will delight listeners young and old as they meet Christopher Paul Curtis, a storyteller of bold ambition and a true and original voice and his inimitable Watsons.

Bud, Not Buddy

It’s 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten year old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but Bud’s got a few things going for him:1. He has his own suitcase filled with his own important, secret things.2. He’s the author of Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.3. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: flyers of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!Bud’s got an idea that those flyers will lead him to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him not hunger, not fear, not vampires, not even Herman E. Calloway himself. Bud, Not Buddy is full of laugh out loud humor and wonderful characters, hitting the high notes of jazz and sounding the deeper tones of the Great Depression. Once again Christopher Paul Curtis, author of the award winning novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963, takes readers on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey. From the Hardcover edition.

Bucking the Sarge

Luther T. Farrell has got to get out of Flint, Michigan.

As his best friend Sparky says, Flint’s nothing but the Titanic.

And his mother, a.k.a. the Sarge, says, Take my advice and stay off the sucker path.

The Sarge milked the system to build an empire of slum housing and group homes. Luther s just one of the many people trapped in the Sarge s Evil Empire but he s about to bust out.

If Luther wins the science fair this year, he ll be on track for college and a future as America s best known and best loved philosopher. All he s got to do is beat his arch rival Shayla Patrick, the beautiful daughter of Flint s finest undertaker and the love of Luther s life.

Sparky s escape plans involve a pit bull named Poofy and the world s scariest rat. Oh, and Luther. Add to the mix Chester X., Luther s mysterious roommate; Dontay Gaddy, a lawyer whose phone number is 1 800 SUE M ALL; and Darnell Dixon, the Sarge s go to guy who knows how to break all the rules.

Bucking the Sarge is a story that only Christopher Paul Curtis could tell. Once again the Newbery Award winning author of Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 gives us a whole new angle on life and a world full of unforgettable and hilarious characters. Readers will root for Luther and Sparky every step of the way.

Praise for The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963:

An exceptional first novel. Publishers Weekly, Starred

Ribald humor…
and a totally believable child s view of the world will make this book an instant hit. School Library
Journal, Starred

Praise for Bud, Not Buddy:

Curtis has given a fresh, new look to a traditional orphan finds a home story that would be a crackerjack read aloud.
School Library Journal, Starred

From the Hardcover edition.

Elijah of Buxton

Newbery Medalist and CSK Award winner Christopher Paul Curtis’s debut middle grade/young YA novel for Scholastic features his trademark humor, compelling storytelling, and unique narrative voice. Eleven year old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known for having made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass, but that changes when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief and discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled a life from which he ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.

The Mighty Miss Malone

‘We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful’ is the motto of Deza Malone’s family. Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan. Jimmie’s beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father. The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is The Mighty Miss Malone. From the Hardcover edition.