Curtis, C,P.. (2007). Elijah of Buxton. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780439023450.
B. Plot Summary:
Curtis presents another award winning novel, Elijah of Buxton. The novel is set in the 1860s in Buxton, Canada, which is a settlement for slaves that escaped on the Underground Railroad. Elijah is the first free born child in Buxton. He enjoys his community. One day, he runs into the sneaky and no good Preacher Zephariah who plans to take advantage of him. The Preacher takes him to the carnival in hopes of reaching a deal with the owner by showcasing Elijah's rock chunking skills. This doesn't work out, but it isn't the end of the Preacher's sneakiness.
Elijah's friend Mr. Leroy has been saving up money to buy his wife and children out of slavery. When he has finally reached enough money, Mr. Leroy sends the money with the Preacher and Mr. Highgate and trusts him to bring his family back. The Preacher steals the money and kills the man alongside him. Mr. Leroy and Elijah then set off in search of his money and the Preacher. Mr. Leroy sadly dies at the beginning of the journey and Elijah promises to help him. During his travels, Elijah discovers the Preacher's dead body, killed by white slave traders. Mr. Leroy's money is all gone. It is there that Elijah encounters several slaves and a baby. This is his first experience with slavery. He wants badly to help them, but can't on his own. He decides to do the next best thing, rescue the baby girl, Hope, and bring her back to the free community of Buxton.
C. Critical Analysis:
Elijah of Buxton has received many awards such as the 2008 Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. This is a slow-paced novel that is designed to build the plot and characters. The reader gets to see Elijah's character evolve from a young and naive boy to a responsible young man. The language presented by Curtis really helps the reader imagine the conversations between characters. There are some controversial topics that occur in the book: hanging of the preacher, naked slaves bound in chains, and murder. This would be a difficult book to share aloud with students at the elementary age.
There are several themes throughout this historical novel: Work hard toward your goals no matter what difficulties come your way, slavery is wrong and unjust, and have courage.
The setting of the story brings the most accurate history into this novel. The community of Buxton, Canada is a real settlement that was created in 1849 as a place to welcome free slaves who had escaped via the Underground Railroad. I had never heard of this community before and I appreciated learning the real history of it in Curtis' Author's Note at the end of the novel.
D. Review Excerpts:
**Kirkus Reviews states "This is not a zip-ahead-and-see-what-happens-next novel. It's for settling into and savoring the rich, masterful storytelling, for getting to know Elijah...Then Elijah journeys to America and risks his life to do what's right. This is Curtis's best novel yet, and no doubt many readers, young and old, will finish and say, "This is one of the best books I have ever read."
**Publisher's Weekly states, "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."
E. Connections:
Students might want to read other books about escaping slavery, such as Harriet Tubman's story, as well as Frederick Douglass. A great historical picture book that connects to this story is Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Readers would enjoy Curtis' other award-winning novel The Watsons go to Birmingham.
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