Elijah of Buxton

Bibliography
Curtis, Christopher Paul. 2007. ELIJAH OF BUXTON. Scholastic Press. New York, NY. ISBN 9780439023443

Plot
In the authentic style of “story prettying-up,” Elijah of Buxton creates a true picture of an eleven-year-old boy who was the first free African American to be born in the freedom Settlement of Buxton, Canada. Living his carefree life, Elijah is afraid of snakes and tired of being labeled “fra-gile.” He is annoyed with Emma who is resentful of his being the first free-born, but in the end realizes they are a lot alike, especially when he sees her going to the woods to help an escaped family and welcome them into town. However, his life full of tall tales and rock fishing is interrupted when Mr. Leroy’s money is stolen by Preacher Zachariah—the money he was given to purchase his family out of slavery. Forced to accompany Mr. Leroy to Detroit to track the Preacher down, he faces the unexpected danger of being left alone, and actually seeing slaves held bound in chains in a barn. Despite his fear, he is able to do what he can, and helps a baby to escape with him back to Buxton.

Critical Analysis
This book, full of humor and horror, eases children into the atrocities of slavery that encourages children to question the actions of their ancestors, and to look with pride at those who risked their lives for freedom. Written in a compassionate way, this book actually is based on a settlement in Canada and gives account of how the free helped the newly escaped. Using lively language and puns, Elijah is ‘terrorfied’ of rope cookies, and takes off running when easily spooked. Children can related to the common experience of fear, and can see the potential within them as they witness the actions of Eljiah returning to Mrs. Chole to understand her strange “grown-up” speak. Although this book is written in dialect, it is an expression of the time, and enhances the story experience. An excellent book to use when discussing the Bill of Rights, Black History Month, or the Underground Railroad, this book will help children to understand what was, and how fantastic our country is.

Reviews
School Library Journal:Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman has two claims to fame: he was the first free black to have been born in Buxton, an actual settlement in Canada established in 1849 by the abolitionist Reverend William King; and, during his infancy, he threw up all over the visiting Frederick Douglass. Elijah is an engaging protagonist, and whether he is completing his chores or lamenting his Latin studies or experiencing his first traveling carnival, his descriptions are full of charm and wonder. Although his colloquial language may prove challenging for some readers, it brings an authenticity and richness to the story that is well worth the extra effort that it might require. While some of the neighbors believe Elijah to be rather simple, and even his mother tends to overprotect her "fra-gile" boy, his true character shines out when a disaster occurs in the close community. Elijah's neighbor, Mr. Leroy, has been saving money for years to buy freedom for his wife and children who are still in the U.S. When this money is stolen, Elijah blames himself for inadvertently helping the thief and, risking capture by slave catchers, crosses the border into Detroit to get it back. His guileless recounting of the people he meets and the horrors he sees will allow readers to understand the dangers of the Underground Railroad without being overwhelmed by them. Elijah's decisions along the way are not easy ones, but ultimately lead to a satisfying conclusion. Curtis's talent for dealing with painful periods of history with grace and sensitivity is as strong as ever.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA School Library Journal, A Reed Business Information Publication
Publishers Weekly:Elijah Freeman, 11, has two claims to fame. He was the first child “born free” to former slaves in Buxton, a (real) haven established in 1849 in Canada by an American abolitionist. The rest of his celebrity, Elijah reports in his folksy vernacular, stems from a “tragical” event. When Frederick Douglass, the “famousest, smartest man who ever escaped from slavery,” visited Buxton, he held baby Elijah aloft, declaring him a “shining bacon of light and hope,” tossing him up and down until the jostled baby threw up—on Douglass. The arresting historical setting and physical comedy signal classic Curtis (Bud, Not Buddy ), but while Elijah's boyish voice represents the Newbery Medalist at his finest, the story unspools at so leisurely a pace that kids might easily lose interest. Readers meet Buxton's citizens, people who have known great cruelty and yet are uncommonly polite and welcoming to strangers. Humor abounds: Elijah's best friend puzzles over the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt” and decides it's about sexual reproduction. There's a rapscallion of a villain in the Right Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third, a smart-talking preacher no one trusts, and, after 200 pages, a riveting plot: Zephariah makes off with a fortune meant to buy a family of slaves their freedom. 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.
BookList:After his mother rebukes him for screaming that hoop snakes have invaded Buxton, gullible 11-year-old Elijah confesses to readers that “there ain’t nothing in the world she wants more than for me to quit being so doggone fra-gile.” Inexperienced and prone to mistakes, yet kind, courageous, and understanding, Elijah has the distinction of being the first child born in the Buxton Settlement, which was founded in Ontario in 1849 as a haven for former slaves. Narrator Elijah tells an episodic story that builds a broad picture of Buxton’s residents before plunging into the dramatic events that take him out of Buxton and, quite possibly, out of his depth. In the author’s note, Curtis relates the difficulty of tackling the subject of slavery realistically through a child’s first-person perspective. Here, readers learn about conditions in slavery at a distance, though the horrors become increasingly apparent. Among the more memorable scenes are those in which Elijah meets escaped slaves—first, those who have made it to Canada and, later, those who have been retaken by slave catchers. Central to the story, these scenes show an emotional range and a subtlety unusual in children’s fiction. Many readers drawn to the book by humor will find themselves at times on the edges of their seats in suspense and, at other moments, moved to tears. A fine, original novel from a gifted storyteller.
Kirkus Reviews:Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman is known for two things: being the first child born free in Buxton, Canada, and throwing up on the great Frederick Douglass. It's 1859, in Buxton, a settlement for slaves making it to freedom in Canada, a setting so thoroughly evoked, with characters so real, that readers will live the story, not just read it. 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, Cooter and the Preacher, for laughing at stories of hoop snakes, toady-frogs and fish-head chunking and crying when Leroy finally gets money to buy back his wife and children, but has the money stolen. 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."

Connections
Free Writing
Have children journal their feelings they experienced when Elijah finds the slaves in the barn. Assure children that their feelings of shame, discomfort, and pain are normal and that we must approach these emotions within ourselves in order to understand them. Allow students the option of turning the paper into your, or to keep their thoughts private. Lead a class discussion by asking questions such as, “Where any of you sad? Why?” or “How would you have felt if you were chained up?”

Research Project on Quilts
Construct a research project on the use of quilts and how many slaves constructed them to account their family’s history, what they knew of it, into a quilt. Quilts also were often secret maps that guided escaped slaves throughout the Underground Railroad. Encourage children to brainstorm ways the maps could be hidden within the pattern, and allow children to make their own map of the classroom on construction paper.