Elijah of Buxton

By: Christopher Paul Curtis

Published by Scholastic Press, 2007

Reading Level: Lexile 1070

Group Read, 5.5

 

Eye-Opening, Encouraging, Powerful, Unforgettable, Hopeful 

Elijah of Buxton, was awarded the Coretta Scott King Book Award in 2008. The award is given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.

In the 1850’s, eleven year old Elijah Freeman was the first free born in Buxton Canada. Buxton is a settlement made up completely of runaway slaves from the South, situated just over the border of Detroit. Elijah attends school, helps out at Mr. Segee’s farm and often asking permission to take Old Flapjack (horse) to a lake to catch fish and also helps Mr. Leroy who is the town’s handy man getting paid by the people to obtain enough money to buy his family’s freedom. Elijah is well known for being sensitive; “fra-gile” is what his mother often calls Elijah. Elijah knows of the hard times of slavery by the ‘grown up’ talk that he so often wishes he would be seen as a grown up but never truly knows what slavery is until seeing for himself. Elijah sees himself as grown when helping Mr. Leroy find a dishonest preacher whom has took all of his friend’s money which was to be used to buy his family. Traveling back into America, a risky task in itself, sees the horrible life his parents escaped from and puts himself in danger of being captured as he tries to find the preacher, the money and the hope of getting Mr. Leroy’s family out of captivity. Upon returning to Buxton, Elijah now knows firsthand the hardships his family has left and will never forget the family he met while in America and quite frankly, neither will I.

 

Key Vocabulary: I would suggest having your students listen to the first few pages of the book through the audio version, to allow them to hear how those from the South talked back in the 1860’s and so that they can read with that tone of voice. Your students may ask you what words mean due to the accent from the South. The words below are often said throughout the book:

Twixt = between

Afore = before

‘Stead = Instead

He’d’ve = he would have

Many of the other words just drop one or two letters of the beginning word and your students should be able to pick up what the word is.

To expand your students vocabulary be conscious of the following words popping up within the book. Fretting (45), familiarity (87), peculiarities (101), rigmarole (119), bevy (121), calamity (247)

Teaching Suggestions –

Before Reading: Inform students the significance of the Underground Raildroad during the time period of slavery. Who were the influential people that helped and in what way did they contribute? People such as: Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, William Still and John Rankin. Frederick Douglass is a character within the book be sure to highlight his part in the Underground Railroad.

During Reading: Have students map out the route that is discussed within the book of the passageway from the South to Ontario, Canada. Allow them to Research the area of Canada where Elijah and other runaway slaves were able to start their life of freedom and William King who is the founder of the prestige Elgin Settlement. For additional reading (if you are able to purchase) copy some pages out of the book, Something to Hope For. The Story Of The Fugitive Slave Settlement Buxton, Canada West for a more historical history of Buxton Canada. To work with your student’s imagination, allow your students to research images and make a collage of what the setting and characters of Elijah of Buxton may look like.

After Reading: Engage your students in a book discussion with the following questions.

1.      What do you think of the Preacher? Is he trustworthy? How would he justify his actions?

2.      What do you think “familiarity breed contempt” means? How does this concept relate to Elijah’s relationship with Mr. Leroy or the Preacher?

3.      On page 158 it says “the second hardest step in making yourself free is the first one you take . . . . [and] that the most hardest step is the very last one.” What do you think that means? Why is the last step the hardest?

Talk It Up! Book discussion website provides 6 more (total of 9) well thought out questions for your students to divide up into groups answer 1 question per book then have each group state their answers to the questions. The rest of the class may chip in their thoughts after each question and you may call upon some of the students who don’t likely speak up in class to get their point of view.

 http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-elijah.html

Electronic Resources –

Buxton National Historic Site and Museum: Students will be able to get a feel of what Buxton was like over a century half ago by visiting this historical site. Virtual exhibits are available due to the fact that the museum is located in Canada and unfortunately are not able to travel to. Educational packages and resource materials are also available for a small fee.

Author's Site: Christopher Paul Curtis , the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King award-winning children’s author introduces himself with a brief biography of his life and aspirations. For all of his books he has multiple resources for each one right on his site ( which is available to all for FREE)!