Daily Dad News

Award Winning Author Puts Female Character In Lead For First Time In New Novel

March 13, 2012

Hailing from the working class city of Flint in Michigan, award-winning author Christopher Paul Curtis has crafted stories centered on the African-American experience from a young male perspective. Now, the father of four is embarking on a new journey and has crafted his first book featuring a female lead, after some careful nudging from fans.

The Mighty Miss Malone features Deza, a minor character from his Newbury Medal Award winner novel Bud, Not Buddy. Set in 1936 much like the book she was first featured, the tale follows 12-year old Deza as her family struggles to make ends meet during the Great Depression. When asked why he was so reluctant to craft a book around Deza, he simply said to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I didn’t want to offend anybody.”

Curtis, 58, taught himself how to write during off times while working on auto assembly lines and several odd jobs, eventually graduating from the University of Michigan in 1999.

Although he’s been nominated for and has won many awards related to child literature, Curtis does not consider himself a niche writer. “I get a lot of librarians who are surprised that they enjoyed the book so much," he said. "What I tell them is that if something is well written, it can be read by anybody by different age levels."

Return To Daily Dad News >>