lijah of Buxtonby Christopher Paul Curtis is the winner of the 2008 Coretta Scott King Award for Text
If you enjoyed reading "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" and "Bud, Not Buddy," then you'll definitely enjoy another one of Curtis's award winning historical fictional books. This is the story of an eleven year old boy named Elijah who lives in Buxton, Canada. This is a place, over the border from Detroit, where runaway slaves sought refuge and live free. What makes Elijah special in this settlement is that he was the first child to be "born free" from former slaves and because of an incident that happened when Mr. Frederick Douglass went to make a speech in Buxton. In the beginning of the story, Elijah seems to be your typical mischievous, curious, and playful young boy. However, the story becomes more interesting when Elijah finds out that a former slave stole Mr. Leroy's savings. Elijah decides to pursue the thief and he embarks on a life-changing journey. He learns about the struggles that his parents suffered and ends up bringing back with him a slave couple's baby girl.
This was another great book written by an award winning author. Even though the plot and most of the characters are fictional, the issues such as cultural diversity, slavery, and maturity are very much real. This is a good book to use during Social Studies or Black History Month. I think many students today can relate with Elijah and everyone young and old can enjoy reading the book.
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