Just over the Canadian border from Detroit, Buxton is a small town established by runaway slaves. Eleven-year-old Elijah was the first free child born in Buxton and feels certain he’ll never live down the moment in infancy when he threw up on famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass. It’s hard for Elijah to fully comprehend the horrors his parents and other adults escaped; they are spare with their stories, clearly wanting to protect their children. Elijah is such a sensitive child that his parents are more determined than most to shelter him from harsh truths. But when a man known as Preacher steals the money a neighbor was saving to purchase his wife and children’s freedom, Elijah is determined to make things right. He follows Preacher over the border, not wholly innocent of the danger, but clearly far from comprehending its depth. Elijah’s openhearted, first-person voice is often funny and always forthright as he describes the adventures of a boy growing up in Buxton, and coming of age on a journey that exposes him to evidence of the darkest side of humanity. At first Elijah does not fully understand the significance of the facts before him as the harsh and harrowing truth about slavery is revealed. But as comprehension begins to dawn, he draws on knowledge of the best of humanity, rooted in his experiences as a member of a sensitive and caring community, to strengthen his courage and resolve. Christopher Paul Curtis has penned a remarkable novel that is both humorous and heartrending. Some readers may struggle at first with the mid-nineteenth century dialect in which Elijah tells his story, but the rewards are worth the challenge. (Ages 10–14)

Elijah is the only child of former slaves, but more importantly, he was the first freeborn child of the historic Buxton settlement in Ontario, Canada. Understandably, Elijah is carefully protected from the harsh realities his parents experienced before escaping to freedom. Curtis uses Elijah’s eleven year-old voice and perspective to masterfully tell the story of the young boy’s maturation as he helps a friend try to recover the stolen money that was set aside to buy a family’s freedom. Elijah makes his way to Michigan, a place ripe with free slaves, runaway slaves, and paddy-rollers seeking to catch and return to the South those who sought what Elijah comes to appreciate more and more, freedom. 2007 Governor General’s Literary Award (Honor Book), 2008 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, 2008 CLA Book of the Year for Children Award, 2008 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award (Honor Book), 2008 Newbery Honor Book, 2007 Coretta Scott King Award, 2008 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction (Honor Book), 2008 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (Honor Book). sc