Christopher Paul Curtis centers his writing on family, racism, and history. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is centered on the Civil Rights Movement, Bud, Not Buddy centers on the time of the Great Depression. Elijah of Buxton shows the life of a young African American boy who wasn't born in slavery. His newest book, The Mighty Miss. Malone focuses on the Great Depression and the life of a child who is poor.
His books also use figurative language like onomatopoeia. "And then the most beautiful notes of music I'd ever heard came from the front of the car and the back of the car at the same time. 'DOOM, DA-DOOM DOOM. DOOM. DA-DOOM DOOM. DOOM, DA-DOOM DOOM. DOOM!' " (Curtis, 1997 pg. 116) " 'Lemme!' Whack! 'See!' Whack!" (Curtis, 1997 pg. 59)
In addition, Christopher Paul Curtis uses dialect in his book to show how the setting changes from the North to the South. In Watsons go to Birmingham-1963, he uses a southern dialect with Grandma Sands' character. "Grandma Sands waved a little skinny stick in the air and said, 'What are you all doin' here today? You ain't supposed to be here till Monday!' Man if you think Momma can talk Southern-Style, you should hear Grandma Sands!" (Curtis, 1997 pg. 156)
