Elijah of Buxton

Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis provides a child’s perspective on the horrors of slavery and the importance of freedom.

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass. But things change when a former slave steals money from Elijah’s friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of c…