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Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Curtis
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780439023443 |
Awards
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled—a life from which he’ll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home.
Review:
"Elijah Freeman, 11, has two claims to fame. He was the first child 'born free' to former slaves in Buxton, a (real) haven established in 1849 in Canada by an American abolitionist. The rest of his celebrity, Elijah reports in his folksy vernacular, stems from a 'tragical' event. When Frederick Douglass, the 'famousest, smartest man who ever escaped from slavery,' visited Buxton, he held baby Elijah aloft, declaring him a 'shining bacon of light and hope,' tossing him up and down until the jostled baby threw up — on Douglass. The arresting historical setting and physical comedy signal classic Curtis (Bud, Not Buddy), but while Elijah's boyish voice represents the Newbery Medalist at his finest, the story unspools at so leisurely a pace that kids might easily lose interest. Readers meet Buxton's citizens, people who have known great cruelty and yet are uncommonly polite and welcoming to strangers. Humor abounds: Elijah's best friend puzzles over the phrase 'familiarity breeds contempt' and decides it's about sexual reproduction. There's a rapscallion of a villain in the Right Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third, a smart-talking preacher no one trusts, and, after 200 pages, a riveting plot: Zephariah makes off with a fortune meant to buy a family of slaves their freedom. Curtis brings the story full-circle, demonstrating how Elijah the 'fra-gile' child has become sturdy, capable of stealing across the border in pursuit of the crooked preacher, and strong enough to withstand a confrontation with the horrors of slavery. The powerful ending is violent and unsettling, yet also manages to be uplifting. Ages 9-12." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Synopsis:
It's 1860, and eleven-year-old Elijah is a first-generation freeborn child. His Canadian town of Buxton, located just across the border from Detroit, serves as a haven for runaway slaves and their children, where Blacks can live free and govern themselves away from the horrors of pre-emancipation America. When the town's corrupt preacher steals money from a citizen who's been saving to buy his family's freedom, Elijah sets off for Detroit in pursuit. He encounters a group of captured runaway slaves; unable to save them all, he escapes with the youngest--a baby--and returns to Buxton a hero.
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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
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Lauren P's review, August 16, 2007 (view all comments by Lauren P's review)
Christopher Paul Curtis has created another masterpiece in the realm of children?s literature with his new novel, Elijah of Buxton. Like his previous books, Bud, Not Buddy and The Watson?s go to Birmingham ? 1963, Elijah of Buxton depicts the struggle of a young boy to understand and overcome the atrocities of racial injustice. Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman takes readers on a journey to the final destination of the Underground Railroad, the Canadian settlement of Buxton. Like many contemporary children, Elijah enjoys a life of freedom characterized by normal childhood activities. As the first child born free to parents who were former slaves, Elijah is sheltered from the harsh realities of slavery. His only knowledge of slavery is obtained through secondhand accounts painfully recounted by residents of Buxton.
Young readers will laugh out loud as they accompany Elijah on hilarious adventures with Hoopsnakes, Moth Lions, and Chunking Stones. Students will feel empathy for Elijah as he realizes that he isn?t the brightest bulb in Mr. Travis?s class. Children struggling to grow into young adults will identify with the shame Elijah feels when he is teased and rebuked for being a ?fragile boy?. A vivid cast of characters peppers the book with spicy personality and captures the reader?s interest more effectively Elijah?s chunking stones capture fish. As Elijah interacts with former slaves, he realizes that the scars of slavery go deeper than the flesh. Elijah stumbles upon a hornet?s nest of human nature when he utters a racial slur which causes a former slave to attack him. Throughout the book, glimpses of racism periodically appear, but Curtis skillfully encourages the reader to befriend Elijah so neither the reader or Elijah will face the atrocity of slavery alone. When at last Elijah crosses the Detroit River into America and encounters slaves, the reader feels as if he or she is alongside Elijah, facing danger, feeling nauseous, and desperately searching for methods to free the trapped victims of slavery. As tears of empathy begin to roll down reader?s cheeks, they almost expect to find Elijah there beside them, identifying with their deep sorrow.
As a child who has faced bigotry firsthand, I felt inspired to become actively engaged in changing the world after reading Elijah of Buxton. Elijah Freeman?s courage reminds us that it?s not enough to merely be a survivor of hatred. As children we share a moral obligation to become ?conductors? of social change. Elijah of Buxton leaves readers with a universal truth understood by all groups who have been oppressed and enslaved; as long as Hope survives, a brighter tomorrow exists for future generations. I was deeply honored to be one of the first readers of this monumental book which chronicles the story of one boy?s journey into adulthood set against the backdrop of a peoples? journey into freedom. Librarians, teachers, parents and students, make room on your bookshelves for what is sure to become an award-winning classic!
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780439023443
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Scholastic Press
- Author:
- Author:
- Subject:
- Historical - United States - 19th Century
- Subject:
- Slavery
- Subject:
- Blacks
- Subject:
- People & Places - United States - African-American
- Subject:
- Historical - Canada - Pre-Confederation (to 1867)
- Subject:
- Liberty
- Subject:
- History
- Publication Date:
- September 2007
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 341
- Dimensions:
- 8.44x6.08x1.17 in. 1.10 lbs.
- Age Level:
- 09-12
