Eagle Book Club

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis is a Newbery Honor book and a Coretta Scott King Award Winner. This book was very touching. Elijah Freeman is an eleven year old boy who is the first child born free in the town of Buxton, Canada. He is very loved by his parents but often feels that he doesn't have their respect because they view him as "fra-gile". Being fragile entails everything from crying too much and getting scared too easily to believing stories of grown ups that do not make sense. He wants to be seen as grown up and not fragile and he struggles with that through the whole book. He is very talented at throwing rocks with uncanny accuracy and would rather ride a mule than a horse. In this book, you see him change from a fragile boy to a very brave young man. He works in the afternoons with Mr. Leroy chopping timber. Mr Leroy has been working solid for four years trying to save up the money to buy his family out of slavery in America when a kind, widowed neighbor gives him the money to buy his family after she learns of her husband's death. Sadly, the preacher of the settlement volunteers to buy Mr Leroy's family, but steals the money to gamble with. When Mr. Leroy finds out about this, he is devastated and a little out of his mind. The book doesn't elaborate, but he is more than likely out of his mind due to the situation and failing health as well. When Mr. Leroy dies on the journey, Elijah takes it upon himself to finish it.

I honestly can't say this book reminds me of any childhood experiences. It paints such a decisive picture of slavery and how slavery affects this free child. I do believe it is a very important book for young readers to experience. Getting a taste of what people went through in this era of our history is a very humbling experience.

Sadly, you still see acts of racism in schools and in the age group this book targets. Because of that, this book could be a very important learning tool in bringing to light the hardships the African race endured through slavery and, hopefully, change the mindset of kids.