Elijah of Buxton [sound recording]

Curtis, Christopher Paul.  2008.  Elijah of Buxton.  Read by Mirron Willis. New York: Random House, Inc..  ISBN 9780739364154

Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in the free settlement of Buxton, Canada, takes the journey through childhood in this artistic representation of life in the 19th century. The story follows Elijah through his daily life until he is caught up in the fight for Mr. Leroy’s family.

Elijah’s journey is the final lesson he needs to understand that people cannot always be trusted to do what is right.

In this unabridged audiobook, Mirron Willis adds flare to the characters voices, as Christopher Paul Curtis weaves a plausible tale of the daily lives and personal journeys the people of Buxton could have had. The characters were well-developed, showing a range of emotion and imperfection.

Elijah, and, so, the reader, is presented with lesson after lesson in morality, trust, love and frailty. These themes make an easy connection for young readers today to this time in history, as all children must go through the pangs of growing up.

Willis’ interpretation of the vocal nuances adds much to develop the naiveté of Elijah, as well as to the emotions of other characters.

While the story does engage the reader, the plot is slow to pick up. The seemingly pointless antics of Elijah and his friends in the beginning of the story are made clear before the end, but some readers may be lost before the story truly begins.

This story may be good supplemental reading for young readers wishing for a better understanding of what happened after slaves completed their journey to freedom, and the notes read by the author at the end of the book will help the reader fill in gaps on the history of Buxton that are omitted from, or only alluded to, in the book.

In addition to other honors, Elijah of Buxton is the winner of the 2008 Coretta Scott King Book Award, the 2008 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and a 2008 John Newbery Honor Book recipient.

“This engrossing tale is read by Mirron Willis who effortlessly varies his rich, textured voice to make each character unique.” (School Library Journal/July 2008)

"A fine, original novel from a gifted storyteller." (Booklist/September 2007)