Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

I was recommending this book to everyone I came across when I first finished reading it!  In Elijah of Buxton, Elijah is an eleven year old boy who is seen as "fra-gile" and extremely gullible.  He also happens to be the first child to be born free in Buxton, Canada - a town for runaway slaves.  It's kind of a big deal!  When he was born, Fredrick Douglass even came to give a big speech ... until Elijah threw up all over him.  Now its time for him to start growing up.  Elijah may have been born free, but he and his best friend, Cooter, are starting to realize some of the realities slavery.  He even ends up going backwards down the underground railway and ends up a hero!  I'm not going to ruin the surprise for you, but you should definitely try this book.  In addition to being an exciting and well-written story, I loved how the characters speak in their own unique dialect.  You may recognize the author, Christopher Paul Curtis, from some other great books like Bud, not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, and Bucking the Sarge.  If you enjoyed those books, I bet you will enjoy this one, too!

Stats: 
(c) 2007       Publisher:  Scholastic     Number of Pages:  341    
Awards:  Newberry Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award, ALA Notable Book, CLA Book of the Year

Black History Month

February is Black History Month!  Carter G. Woodson was one of the first to organize this remembrance back in 1926 as a week long event.  February was chosen because it is the birth month of two important figures in African-American History:  Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.  This month, the Young Adult Bookshelf would like to join our nation in placing a special spotlight on this important element of American History.  Each week we will take a closer look at a great young adult book that honors African American heritage.  I hope that you will join in by choosing a book along this same theme this month.  If you come across a great find; let us know!

Super Cool Extra Resources:

Click HERE to learn more about Black History Month!

Below, I've included a short clip from the local news here in Atlanta so you can see how other students are celebrating this month: