Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Historical Fiction
Scholastic, 2007
Summary:
Elijah was the first free child born in the settlement town of Buxton, Canada. Elijah has many funny adventures around the settlement while he’s busy doing his daily chores and attending school. Many run away and newly freed families arrive at the settlement over the years and Elijah and his best friend, Cooter, are the welcoming committee for the settlement. After one of the community members saves up enough money to buy his family out of slavery, the money is stolen and its up to Elijah to try and get the money back. As Elijah travels to the United States to help out, a very unexpected twist happens that will really surprise you.
Themes: Good vs. bad; values; courage.
Rationale for Use: Characters are charming and very realistic and react in humorous and typical ways. A light atmosphere to the heavy topic of slavery.
Content Area Connections: Social Studies: This book deals with the issue of slavery, escaped slaves, and freed black men.
Possible Problems or Concerns: The one main problem that students may have problems with is the language. I really enjoyed the way the author made the language so realistic, but I could see students having difficulty understanding what they have read. I would introduce the book by reading the first chapter to the students to model how the young boy talks and what it should sound like.
~Stacy Whitt
I must admit I tried to read this book last year. I had difficulty with the language. Maybe if I read it out loud to begin with and pushed myself to "get into it" I would enjoy it and finish it. I will try it again this summer.
ReplyDelete-Debbe
If the language of this book is tedious, perhaps it would be a good selection to read aloud to a class. I admit to being interested enough to read it myself. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Belinda Todd
ReplyDeleteI have been to the library to check out this book and is has a waiting list. I love Christopher Paul Curtis and I try to read any thing that he reads. This is a good book to read to the students althought I am not sure if my second graders will understand. Tracy Hayes
ReplyDeleteI like the book but it has a lot that I can not read to the students, the students love to hear the book but I know they are not able to read it because of the dialouge. Ashley Glass
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