Popular author visits Gore Hill Public School

Popular author Christopher Paul Curtis made a stop at Gore Hill Public School on Wednesday, April 10 and spoke to students, grades three through eight, about the importance of reading and writing.

Curtis was brought in by school library teacher, Shirley Kunca, who met Curtis some time ago at a Tim Hortons in Windsor.

“Being a book nerd, I immediately recognized him,” she said. “My mom urged me to introduce myself.”

The two are now friends and Curtis came to the school for an ‘Author Talk’ with the students in the school gymnasium.

Curtis grew up in Flint, Michigan, and spent his first 13 years out of high school working in the Fisher Body Plant #1 in Flint, before deciding on a career writing books. He’s now a full-time writer and lives in Windsor.

His first book — published in 1995 — was The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963, which was made into a TV movie in 2013.

He explained to the students the process involved in writing a book and gave them plenty of tips on how to become a writer — which involves “practice, practice, practice.”

Some of his other popular titles include Bud, Not Buddy and Elijah of Buxton — a book that he wrote from memories of spending summers at Rondeau. In total, he has published nine books.

The children had lots of questions afterward, and a few who already had his books brought copies for him to sign.