Elijah of Buxton Review

Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
Author(s): Christopher Paul Curtis

ISBN: 0439023440 EAN: 9780439023443
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

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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.

User Submitted Elijah of Buxton Reviews

November 9, 2008
Read along for Book Club
I wanted to make this high level book available to my fifth graders who are studying the Civil War, but was concerned about the dialect being difficult for some of them to read. I purchased books for each student and then purchased the CD so they could follow along as the professionally recorded CD played enabling them to understand the "foreign" words. They love being able to see the printed word as well as hear the intent of the author. They are able to flag parts of the book as they "read" along. It is making this book club a much richer experience for them.

August 19, 2008
It is, as always, an honor and a pleasure to lose oneself in one more mesmerizing tale from Curtis
Elijah has a good life in Buxton, the Canadian settlement that is a refuge for runaway slaves and their children. He and his best friend, Cooter, go to school, attend church, do chores and think up elaborate pranks, such as putting a huge "toady-frog" in his mother's knitting bag. Of course, sometimes the pranks get turned on them. Elijah's mother is able to exact revenge; a town visitor known as the Right Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third, or "the Preacher," preys on Elijah's fear of snakes with wild tales about vicious rolling hoop snakes.

The truth is, Elijah is sensitive. His mother calls him "fra-gile." Riding horses terrifies him, and it doesn't take much for him to cry. When he practices his special skill of killing fish by throwing rocks at them, the Preacher easily talks him out of much of his catch. Elijah's sensitivity is put to the test when he must deliver sad news to a neighbor. Will he be able to fully realize what the moment means while not breaking down?

The story takes another deeper, darker turn when one freed slave sends a man to buy his family's freedom. When the situation goes awry, Elijah finds himself on a quest to set things right. In his attempt, he faces devastating circumstances and decisions. His actions will prove his mettle. Is he up to the task, or is he too fragile to cope?

Elijah's coming-of-age story is a powerful page-turner, full of humor, adventure, heartbreaking sorrow and buoyant promise. It also introduces the reader to a fascinating (and little known) time and place in our history. Loose threads are not woven together into a tidy ending, yet the climax serves up a satisfying uplift of hope and triumph.

There are storytellers, and then there are Storytellers; it's no surprise that Christopher Paul Curtis, winner of numerous awards for his fiction (including the prestigious Newbery Medal), qualifies for that capital letter. It is, as always, an honor and a pleasure to lose oneself in one more mesmerizing tale from him.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

August 1, 2008
Slang difficult to read and understand
This book is required reading for my rising 6th grader. Even though she is an advanced language arts student, she found the slang difficult to read and understand. Definitely not a book she enjoyed reading and would have never finished if it was not required for school. When asked about the book, she instantly focuses on the difficulty of reading the slang and the actual story is secondary.

July 19, 2008
Just, no...
The thing I didn't like about Elijah of Buxton is that I was having trouble with the slang... I understand that it added kind of a uniqeness to the book, but what's the use if you can't even READ the book? So that was a little bit bothersome. And also, there's not as much dialogue, (which for my prefrance, I enjoy lots of dialogue) and Elijah sometimes rambles a little bit throughout the book, which can sometimes get boring and endless.
I had to read this book for book club, and I ended up just skimming it, because I just really didn't like it... This is only my opinion. The one good thing about the book though, is that it's religious, and sends a very positive message to stay strong in tough times.

June 6, 2008
Elijah of Buxton - Great Read Aloud
Christopher Paul Curtis is one of my favorite adolescent authors. I read Bub, Not Buddy to my 8th graders every year (Great Depression) and The Watson's Go To Birmingham: 1963 (during a Civil Rights Movement unit). This school year I discovered Elijah of Buxton and read it to my students during my unit on American Slavery. None of my students had read the book and we were all on the edge of our seats together. This book has great voice and I especially enjoyed the dialect. My students and I throughly enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend it to students to read, parents to read to their kids and teachers to read to their students! I cannot say enough good things about this book.

April 9, 2008
Elijah of Buxton
*Elijah of Buxton* is an exciting historical fiction book about a boy named
Elijah who is the first child born free in Buxton. It is about the Preacher
who doesn't care for anyone in Buxton and who lies about everything. He
tells Elijah that one type of snake is outrageously dangerous and when his
mom plays a trick on him he finds that they are harmless. He still trusts
the Preacher so he goes to a carnival in a neighboring white town. The
preacher takes a boy in slavery from the white town and brings him to
Buxton. Then a single wife in Buxton finds out that her husband has died so
she gives her wood cutter Mr Leroy the money she was saving to buy her
husband out of slavery so he can buy his family out of slavery. Mr Leroy
gives the preacher his money because everybody still trusts him and because
he has contacts to buy people out of slavery. Elijah goes away from Buxton
and comes back with a slaves baby he found. The book ends with many
questions and is open to lots of predictions and questions.

Elijah of Buxton captured my interest on the first page. It is emotional,
dramatic and leaves you wondering at the end of each chapter. If you are
going to read a historical fiction book start with this one. I would
definitely recommend this book to 4th grade and up.

April 6, 2008
Loving Elijah
Like Christopher Paul Curtis' other books, Elijah of Buxton is full of emotions from laughter to tears. It is a touch of history with a surprise ending. I loved the adventure, the suspense, the humor, and the characters. As an educator I highly recommend this book for adults and older children to enjoy.

March 27, 2008
Should You Read This Book? YES!
This is one of the most amazing historical-fiction books that I have ever read! How the author mixes in survival, action, and comedy into the theme is absolutely wonderful. What adds to this already fantastic book is that it touches on how most free slaves in Buxton would never go back to America. That just shows how bad things were. One of the many shocking things is when Mr. Leroy back-hands Elijah to the ground. It was so fast and unexpected. Personally, I find it unsurprising when Mr. Leroy's money is stolen. Also, the fact that Elijah uses chunking stones to fish and defend himself from a vicious dog is very unique to me. The only thing that I did not like was the ending, that is it. There is a lesson to be learned from this story: with persaverence and an iron will you can make it happen. The climax of the book is when Mr. Leroy's money is stolen. The most exciting part is when Elijah and Mr. Leroy go after the thief. That is one more thing people will never forget about Elijah, along with being the first freeborn in Buxton and throwing up on Mr. Frederick Douglas as a baby. This book also shows how much different Canada and the U.S. were back then, and maybe even today.

March 12, 2008
Excellent, Entertaining, Educational
We used this book for our Mother/Daughter book club made up of girls ranging in age from 10 to 13. It was an excellent text for Black History Month. The book centers around the first free child born in Buxton, named Elijah. He is a fictional character, but the setting, Buxton, is an actual town that was settled for the sole purpose of providing a safe haven for ex-slaves where they could own property and participate in community government. Although there are some serious themes regarding slavery, the author handles them in a fashion appropriate for children.
He also interjects humor into the story as well as page turning adventure. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to give their child a better understanding of slavery.

March 1, 2008
Caution: Contains graphic language
I was recently asked to read from this book at a local grade school. I enjoyed assuming the dialect as I read about the 'hoop snake' incident in the first chapter. I found the storyline fun and entertaining. However, I was really taken aback when I came to some of the dialogue of the preacher. He tells the children he'd rather be shot dead than come across another hoop snake. He continued that he'd rather have them put a "bullet in his brain".... I couldn't believe the words I was reading (and trying somehow to creatively change into something more acceptable). Children have SO many rules in school now about guns and weapons. School shootings occur randomly. Although the wording may have been a part of this character, especially many years ago, I don't understand why this is acceptable in print now (let alone winning awards!)

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