The Watsons Go to Birmingham—2963, Curtis's first book, is set in Flint, Michigan, in 1963. His second book, Bud, Not Buddy, is also set in Flint but during the Great Depression. In The Watsons Go to Birmingham1963, Curtis has created a strong family unit, while in Bud, Not Buddy readers meet ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy, who escapes from a bad foster home situation and sets out to find his father.

With LeVar Burton reading the story, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—2963 is also available on audio cassette from Bantam Books-Audio.