Elijah of Buxton

I think one of the things I like about reading historical fiction is having the opportunity to learn about places and events in history I had no idea about.  The book Elijah of Buxton is about a eleven year old boy who was the first child born free into a settlement in Buxton, Canada started by runaway slaves.  I think this book would be great to include in a unit of study of the underground railroad, slavery in the United States or the abolitionist movement. 

I really ended up enjoying this book, but have to admit I really struggled in the beginning.  Christopher Paul Curtis is extremley detailed and spends a long time introducing the characters and setting in the story. I have to admit I began wondering when he was it was going to get to "good part".  I think I was almost 100 pages into the book before the action started picking up. Fortunately, I found the main character very likable so I stuck with it.  I am not sure many of my students would be willing to invest that much time in the book before giving up.  I keep trying to teach them that sometimes you have to give the story time to build.  A lot of readers want action from page 1.  I would definitely say it would be most appropriate for middle school age students. 

Author Study

I have to say that I am really enjoying sharing books by Carl Hiaasen with my fifth grade class.  I actually have been having a hard time getting my hands on a couple of the books because everytime a student returns it to my classroom library another is waiting to check it out.  The school librarian is very supportive of my kids and their verocious appetite for books and ordered more copies for the kids.   I have to say just reading some of the Reading responses about the books have made me laugh out loud.  I am particularly looking forward to getting my hands on my copy of Chomp.  My kids are getting such a kick out it.  I can't wait to read it!! It makes me feel so good to see kids so engaged in reading.  I am very fortunate with this particular class because my biggest obstacle is not getting them to read, but having enough books on hand for when they finish their latest book.  Sounds funny, but when I offer this class a list of options of things we could do as a reward they always choose Independent Reading Time.  There are times when they follow me around at recess to talk about their books.  It definitely motivates me to keep reading the latest books to share with students.