• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

Bestselling Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis delivers a powerful companion to his multiple award-winning ELIJAH OF BUXTON.

The Madman of Piney Woods joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!

Benji and Red couldn't be more different. They aren't friends. They don't even live in the same town. But their fates are entwined. A chance meeting leads the boys to discover that they have more in common than meets the eye. Both of them have encountered a strange presence in the forest, watching them, tracking them. Could the Madman of Piney Woods be real?

In a tale brimming with intrigue and adventure, Christopher Paul Curtis returns to the vibrant world he brought to life in Elijah of Buxton. Here is another novel that will break your heart -- and expand it, too.

This critically acclaimed story by National Book Award finalist Christopher Paul Curtis joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes extra bonus content!

Christopher Paul Curtis was born and reared in Flint, Michigan. After high school graduation, he worked on the assembly line of the Fisher Body Plant/Flint Plant No. 1 and graduated from the Flint branch of the University of Michigan. His first book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, received a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor book citation in 1996, and Bud, Not Buddy received the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award in 2000.

His 2007 book Elijah of Buxton won a Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 2008. "This novel came to me in a way that was far different than any other," states Curtis. "From the word 'go' Elijah and I became close friends. When I'd go to the library to write, it was as if he were anxiously waiting for me, waiting to tell about his life, his worries, his adventues."

Christopher Paul Curtis lives with his wife and two children in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Christopher Paul Curtis' profile page

• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre
• Commended, TD Summer Reading Club
• Short-listed, Rocky Mountain Book Award (Alberta Children's Choice)
• Commended, Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Starred Selection
• Short-listed, OLA Silver Birch Award, Fiction

Praise for The Madman of Piney Woods:

* "Humor and tragedy are often intertwined, and readers will find themselves sobbing and chuckling, sometimes in the same scene." -Kirkus, Starred Review

*". . . a delight, featuring the author's obvious love for his characters, his skillful use of sentiment, and his often hyperbolic humor . . ." -Booklist, Starred Review

"Heady stuff. Funny stuff. Smart stuff. Good stuff. Better get your hands on this stuff." -School Library Journal