Chapter Book 7 --- Elijah of Buxton

Title: Elijah of Buxton
Author:Christopher Paul Curtis
Illustrator:N/A
Genre: Historical Fiction
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Theme: Slavery, African Americans, Freedom, Trust, Bravery
Characters: Elijah, Mr. Leroy, Zephariah Connerly, Cooter, and Ms. Chloe
Awards: Newberry Honor and Coretta Scott King
Publishing Date: 2007
Publishing Company: Scholastic
Summary: This book is about a young boy named Elijah. Elijah was the first child born into freedom in Buxton. He has made a big impression on the people of Buxton by puking on famous slave Fredrick Douglas. Elijah has been considered to be very fragile and scared of things in his life. Elijah works with Mr. Leroy and comes very close with him and Mr. Leroy is trying to save up money to free his family from slavery in the south. There is also a strange character the Right Reverend Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third. He is the preacher in the community and he acts quite strange. Elijah seems to trust everyone in the community and that turns out to be a huge mistake. He tells Mr. Leroy to trust the Reverend to take the money and fee his family, but as it turns out the Reverend wasn't so trustworthy. Elijah must really step up his courage and make a big adventure to right the wrong that he feel responsible for and free Mr. Leroy's family and bring them back to Buxton. I would use this book in my classroom as a class read while learning of slavery or to use this book to hook them at the beginning of the unit and really interest them. It also provides information on the underground railroad for that lesson if it is in the curriculum.