McKenzie, born in 1992. Curtis and Sookram separated in the late 2000s. A few years later, Curtis married Habon Aden and they have two children together: Ayaan Leslie (2010) and Ebyaan Hothan (2012). In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and listening to music, primarily jazz and blues. He views both as a good way to release stress. He also enjoys reading, but only when he is not writing because otherwise, he finds his writing becomes significantly affected by the style of the author he is reading. According to an interview with The Washington Post, Curtis enjoys reading on the couch in the early morning. Published books The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 (1995) – When Kenny Watson's older brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, the Watsons head from Flint, Michigan, to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit Grandma Sands, the one person who can shape Byron up. But the events that shake Birmingham in the summer of 1963 will change Kenny's life forever. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal and was selected as a top book of the year by many publications and organizations. In 2013, it was named as one of the New York Public Library's 100 Great Children's Books of the Last 100 Years. Bud, Not Buddy (1999) – It is 1936 in Flint, Michigan. Times may be hard, and ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but he has a few things going for him. Bud goes to find who he believes is his father, a man named Herman E. Calloway. He meets a few friends on the way, and stays determined to achieve his goals. Curtis modeled characters in Bud, Not Buddy after his two grandfathers: Earl "Lefty" Lewis, a Negro league baseball pitcher, and Herman E. Curtis, leader of Herman Curtis and the Dusky Devastators during the Great Depression. Bud, Not Buddy won the 2000 Newbery Medal. It also won the Coretta Scott King Award, and was chosen as the best book of the year by the School Library Journal. Bucking the Sarge (2004) – Luther T. Farrell has got to get out of Flint, Michigan. He just needs to escape the evil empire of the local slumlord, "The Sarge", aka his mother. Bucking the Sarge was selected as one of the best children's books of the year by various publications