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The book came right away. This book was requested for my daughter's reading list for school.
When I got toward the end of the book, I couldn't put it down. This was a very informative book about how runaway slaves lived once they were free, yet it was interwoven into an exciting story told through an eleven year- old's eyes. As the story progressed, however, I became caught up not only in the immediate story but also in the events of that time period.
However, he is not completely typical, as he is the first child to be born free in the Canadian community of Buxton, a community settled by runaway slaves. While I thought this book got off to a slow start, I think middle school readers would be able to relate to Elijah's antics. Elijah is introduced to the reader as a typical eleven year-old boy who plays tricks on his mother and tries to get away with whatever he can.
The background also contributed to my initial view of Elijah. I would highly recommend reading it. Elijah's life changes when he travels with a friend to Michigan in pursuit of a man who has stolen his friend's money.
While in Michigan he suddenly finds himself exposed to horrific aspects of slavery that he has only just heard about previously from his former slave parents.
In fact, Elijah was the first child born into freedom in Buxton, a settlement of former slaves in southern Ontario close to the United States border that was founded in 1849. Would this fragile child be able to draw on his talents to survive such a dangerous situation. But he was also gullible and took fright easily, running and screaming like a madman when spooked, especially by snakes.
He also witnessed the physical scars on their bodies, the extraordinary fear exhibited by newly-escaped slaves who found their way to Buxton, and the depths of sadness when neighbors got news of the death of loved ones who were still in captivity. The author has used his exceptional storytelling abilities to weave a tale of humor, treachery, agony, and childhood innocence into this award-winning novel. Ultimately Elijah experienced the grim reality of slavery first-hand when a family friend's loss of a large sum of money led Elijah across the border to Michigan in search of the thief and the stolen money.
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman could talk up a storm, had a generous heart, did well in school, and had a fantastic throwing arm. Yet Elijah heard stories about the horrors of slavery from his parents and other residents in Buxton. Important lessons in economics related to economic self-sufficiency and the institution of slavery are interwoven into this memorable work of historical fiction.
His parents, former slaves who had escaped to Canada, often took comfort in the fact that Elijah was born into freedom rather than slavery given his "fragile" nature, as they called it. Elijah enjoyed a happy life in Buxton, a community that thrived in large part due to strict rules regarding land ownership and home construction, as well as the establishment of its own school and lumber processing facilities.
Curtis had not only written a wonderful book, but he has captured the voice of the people during salvery. For example, no matter who uses the "n"word, it originates from hate, ignorance or both. Elijah of Buxton introduces a mystery on the first page book, it thrust Elijah and the reader into the story. Christopher Curtis teaches Elijah throughout the book and the reader. Finally, Elijah of Buxton allows you experience how slaves felt when the first came to Buxton, joy and happiness beyond imagination. Not only that, we get to know the characters- their strength and fears. More than that, I threw rocks as a young boy, but Elijah showed me that there is a science to the sport.
As a character, he is easy to relate to and care for. history, a lone reservation is that, because the speaking is dialectically true, there are times when the speech or era-appropriate words may be unclear to a young reader ("I'm-a" or "our'n" for example or "spectacles" or "brogans"). Elijah's parents were two such slaves, but Elijah himself was the first free child born in the community.
The opening funny chapters draw the reader in well, but the characters and events keep one firmly with Elijah. Those moments are largely addressed if a reader's context-decoding skills are strong. A very appropriate book for an intermediate-grades reader, especially one studying U.S.
Buxton is a community just north of the Canadian border to which escaped slaves could flee for freedom. His basic good nature and sensibilities merge gracefully with his "fra-gile" side. In that case, I recommend this without reservation as a book to both learn from and enjoy greatly.
Here he is a pre-teen, working alongside an adult, attending school and Sunday school, and engaging in mischief appropriate for his age and the time. His unique rock-throwing, chunking, skill plays interesting and sometimes humorous roles in the story.
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