Elijah of Buxton

Photo credit: Tower Books http://www.tower.com/

There are many things I love about being a mother.  Mostly I love being my son’s mother.  The years pass so quickly it’s hard to believe there was once a time I couldn’t imagine him being a tween.

Every stage of parenthood has its own unique rewards and one of the greatest joys we’ve always shared is reading.  Reading in the tot years meant me reading to my son.  As he learned to read and write, he read to me.  Now we have our own private book club.  With a more sophisticated vocabulary and developing understanding of complex ideas, he can read books that appeal to my intellectual interests too.  A few weeks ago we picked out Christopher Curtis‘ novel Elijah of Buxton.  I have just finished it and am ready to pass it to my son.  I can’t wait for him to dig his heels into this magnificent story.

Curtis writes Elijah in the first person, from the perspective of a boy born free from slavery in a Canadian community of freed slaves, many painfully separated from their loved ones who remain enslaved in America.  Elijah is filled with warm hearted wit, life lessons and discovery in many different forms.  I will relish watching my son laugh and explore with Elijah.  I wonder if he’ll relate to the sweet boy in this book and whether he will appreciate the humor of the cookie jar.