Curtis, Christopher Paul. ELIJAH OF BUXTON. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439023443
This is the historical fiction story of Elijah, the first free black child born in the city of Buxton, Canada. Elijah is a young, smart boy who works hard at school and at his chores. He enjoys doing things which boys enjoy such as fishing. As the story progresses Elijah learns that life is not so simple and good for all black people. He learns how dear freedom is and the tremendous price people are willing to pay to be free. This story will inform readers about this horrible, shameful period from our history. When Elijah comes across a group of captured black slaves readers will learn just how desperate the situation was. It is a very hard lesson to realize that there was absolutely no hope for these people to escape. It is also an extreme lesson to realize what a mother must do to help her daughter escape from slavery. The dialogue and setting in this story bring the reader back to this time. Children will relate to Elijah and his antics, scaring his mom with a toady frog and wanting to learn about family breeding contests, and will become moved as he learns from experience what freedom really means.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment