|
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.
No wonder this book won like all of the most prestigious children's book awards- Newberry award. If you are a teacher looking to implement multicultural literature into your curriculum, this is a must.
etc. I can't even describe all the amazing aspects of this book from authentic details, to well-developed voice, to laugh-out-loud humor, etc.
You just found it. and other awards.
This one is special- glory to God who has clearly given this author his talent. Believe me, this author is a creative genius.
Coretta Scott King award.
Each chapter was a different part of Elijah's childhood, which made each chapter difficult to begin. I enjoyed reading about the many adventures of Elijah. My only complaint would be that the book didn't seem to follow like a story. Elijah of Buxton is the story of the young Elijah who happens to be the first child who was born free in his town. I would recommend this book for children older than ten due to some violence and language. In one of my favorite chapters, Elijah and his best friend play a prank on his toad-fearing mother. The story follows Elijah's adventures, mischief, and life lessons that are learned along the way. While Elijah expected to be whipped for this, his mother plays a prank right back that causes Elijah to run for miles scared out of his mind.Christopher Paul Curtis does a great job mixing history, humor, and life lessons in this novel.
I recommend it to young adults and older. I came upon this book in my daughter's scholastic flyer and wound up buying it for myself. You can get in the act and read a well written "young adult" book too. Come on adults. I am not a big reader, however, this book kept my interest from cover to cover. It is extremely well written and the storyline is one that creates compassion and understanding.
Once he grabs your attention with his character development, he takes you places you'd never go otherwise. Curtis has a gift for taking serious subject matter and making it palitable and even humorous for adolescents. Good job. As a middle school literature teacher, I've ALWAYS been a fan of Curtis. Elijah is some of his best work,although reminiscent of Watsons in language usage~~~not a bad thing, it helped my students make connections.
|
