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