Elijah of Buxton # 16

1.      Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
2.      Title: Elijah of Buxton
3.      Genre: Historical Fiction
4.      Subgenre: Chapter Book
5.      Theme: Slavery, Freedom, Canada, and Traveling
6.      Primary and secondary Characters: Elijah and Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly, Cooter, and other charters along the journey
7.      Awards: Coretta Scott King Award & Newberry Honor Book
8.      Date of Publication: October 2007
9.      Publication Company: Scholastic Press
10.  A summary about the book and how you will use it in your classroom.

Elijah and his family lives happily at refuge called Buxton in Canada along with other runaway slaves.  Elijah and his friend Cooter had fun playing and sneaking around like normal boys.  They are unaware of the lives their parents fought hard to leave and the evil that still exist in the world around them until Elijah meet Preacher Connerly.  Preacher Connerly uses Elijah’s kindness and sensitiveness against him to manipulate him, the preacher also had strange stories that all the adults became suspicious. Soon after these events the money that Elijah’s friend had been saving to buy his own families freedom went missing.  Elijah who was known as sensitive kid soon found himself on a journey to seek justice for his friend and his family.  This journey tested Elijah’s bravery and introduced him to the live he never had to endure.  I would us this book to introduce fourth, fifth, or sixth graders during a Civil war or Slavery lesson so that student could see the world through a kids eyes during that time period.  This book offers a lot of great detail about the time period it lets the readers see the problems black children had to face day to day while also relating to the characters as well through their playful side.