Christopher Paul Curtis, born May 10, 1953, worked on a car assembly line in Flint, Michigan, before becoming one of the most celebrated children's authors in America. His job at the Fisher Body plant involved hanging car doors -- repetitive, exhausting work. To cope, Curtis made a deal with a coworker: they would take turns, one hanging doors while the other had thirty minutes to read or write. Those stolen half-hours were where Curtis began writing. His most famous novel, Bud, Not Buddy (1999), tells the story of a ten-year-old orphan in Depression-era Michigan who sets out to find the man he believes is his father. The book is funny, heartbreaking, and deeply researched. Curtis based the jazz musicians in the story on real bands from 1930s Flint. Bud, Not Buddy won both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award, making Curtis the first author to win both prizes for the same book. Curtis writes about difficult subjects -- poverty, racism, and loss -- but always through the eyes of young narrators whose humor and courage keep the stories from becoming bleak. His writing proves that children's books can be both entertaining and meaningful.