Students may be interested in reading Curtis's debut novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. The audiobook version of Bud, Not Buddy, featuring instrumental music, is highly recommended as a supplement to the written text. For older students, John Steinbeck's classic, The Grapes of Wrath, is essential for understanding the impact of the Depression on Oklahoma farmers. For younger readers, Jerry Stanley's Children of the Dustbowl: The True Story of Weedpatch School details the lives of migrant children in California during the 1930s. Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust poignantly tells, through prose poems, the story of a family's desperate struggle as their farm steadily erodes. Another perspective from the era is found in James Aldridge's Grandpa Jake and the Good Christmas, which narrates a young girl's surprising discoveries about her grandfather.

For those interested in young adult fiction exploring a child's search for home, Karen Cushman's The Midwife's Apprentice, Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, and Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons are excellent choices. Katherine Paterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins also addresses the theme of a homeless child, though Gilly's experiences in her new foster home differ greatly from Bud's.

Students fascinated by 1930s music and its musicians will enjoy Roxanne Orgill's If Only I Had A Horn: Young Louis Armstrong, an illustrated biography of the jazz legend. Kathleen Krull's Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times, and What the Neighbors Thought features profiles of Scott Joplin, Woody Guthrie, and George Gershwin, all significant contributors to the era's popular music. Those interested in the history of pullman porters and their unionization should read Patricia and Frederick McKissack's A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter.

Beck, M.D. "An Interview with Newbery Award Winner, Christopher Paul Curtis." Riverbank Review (winter 1999-2000): 12-15. Christopher Paul Curtis discusses his young adult novels and his life as an author.

Lamb, W. "Christopher Paul Curtis." Horn Book Magazine (July 2000): 397. Wendy Lamb, an editor at Delacorte Press, shares how she came to publish Curtis’s two young adult novels. She recounts events from his life and his journey to becoming an author. With an intimate and friendly tone, she reveals glimpses of the man behind the stories, highlighting his sense of humor and modest nature. She states, "I am fervently glad this man has found the right work."

Lesesne, Teri. "Writing the Stories Brewing inside of Us: An Interview with Christopher Paul Curtis." Teacher Librarian (March 1999): 54. Curtis discusses his life, his writing, and his experiences engaging with students who read his books.

Sutton, Roger. Review of Bud, Not Buddy. Horn Book Magazine (November 1999): 737. A brief yet positive review of Curtis’s novel.

Weich, David. "Christopher Paul Curtis Goes to Powell's." Powell's Books News http://www.powells.com. April 2001. A comprehensive interview where Curtis talks about his experiences as an auto worker and his journey as an author.