Library & Literary Miscellany

Before I begin this review, my congratulations go out to all of the authors of the ALA Award and Honor books for this year. Since Elijah of Buxton won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical fiction, the Coretta Scott King author award, and a Newbery Honor I thought it an apt title to review for the day. So here goes…

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (2007)

Elijah of Buxton is a fortunate child–fortunate to have been the first child born into the town of Buxton, Canada, a community of free blacks and escaped slaves founded by Presbyterian minister Reverend William King. He’s fortunate, but he’s also fragile and prone to gullibility and mischief. Elijah of Buxton relates Elijah life as he catches fish, throws rocks, plays tricks, learns a trade, and makes mistakes and rectifies them as best he can.

Along with these episodic adventures, Curtis includes a culminating adventure in which an unethical “Preacher” steals money from Mr. Leroy, a man whom Elijah works for and respects. Mr. Leroy has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South, and the Preacher’s theft drives him to desperate measures–measures which entail taking Elijah to America to catch the Preacher and to recapture the money. It is this final adventure that makes slavery real for Elijah such that he recognizes its horrors and comes to truly appreciate his freedom. “Fragile” Elijah grows up–recognizing that he can be sensitive and empathetic while also remaining courageous, steadfast, and true.

In Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis has once again brought history to life by creating a winning protagonist and a compelling story (see The Watsons Go to Birmingham or Bud, not Buddy for more of his historical fiction). He portrays the injustices and cruelties of the period in sensitive and age-appropriate ways. For example, he uses Elijah’s narration to show such scenarios as how escaped slaves who are used to fleeing and hiding must be cautiously approached and how one escaped slave was caught and tortured to death in his attempt to join his family in Buxton. Curtis also realistically portrays the grief experienced by the family and community upon hearing the news of the death.

At the same time, Curtis highlights the strength of spirit of both the enslaved and the free and escaped slaves. Elijah of Buxton does include a significant portion of dialect which might cause struggling readers to stumble over some of the content, but overall, Elijah’s story is an important story and an award-worthy addition to historical fiction.

Takeaway quote (and sampling of the dialect):

Mr. Leroy tells Elijah, “Fish eating’s like anything else in life, Elijah. If you go at it ’specting something bad to happen, all you gunn do is draw that bad thing to you. You caint be timid ’bout nothing you do, you got to go at it like you ’specting good things to come out of it. If I’s to worry ’bout bones choking me, it’d happen every time I et fish. Ain’t nothing further from my mind.”

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Kimchi & Calamari by Rose Kent (2007)

Joseph Calderero, eighth-grade optimist, has a life that’s running along as satisfyingly as a fully carbonated beverage. His family loves him, his friends support him, and he’s got a rapier wit that girls go for (or so he hopes since the Farewell Formal is imminent). As a Korean boy who has been raised by an Italian-American family he soon finds that he will need his optimism, his family, his friends, and his wit to keep his identity from fizzling into flatness when his multiple cultures inescapably clash.

While Joseph has likely had questions about his past and his heritage all his life, circumstances conspire to bring his questions to the surface around his fourteenth birthday–his sociology teacher decides to turn sociology into soul-searching ancestral roots, his parents give him a corno (a goat horn worn by Italian men for good luck) on a gold chain for his birthday, and a “real” Korean family moves into the neighborhood.

Now, Joseph needs to write a 1500 word sociology paper on his ancestry when he really only needs two words “I’m adopted.” He has a goat horn hidden deep in his drawer. And the mother of the Korean family down the street considers him to be a “cheap Korean imitation.” Joseph’s layers–the Korean ancestry and the Italian upbringing and the uniquely Joseph–are creating inside of him an identity crisis of colossal proportion.

The essay assignment provides a central focus for much of the action of the book. As Joseph delves into his past to unearth 1500 words worth of material, he finds a murky path. The path’s so murky that he says, “I’m starting to think the adoption agency just pulled me out of a deep dark hole. Abacadabra, one Korean kid.”

In lieu of admitting his difficulties in completing the assignment to his teacher, he decides to turn his non-fiction heritage into a fictional account; basically, he adopts a famous ancestor and writes about him. Joseph’s fabrication eventually comes out in a school-wide scandal that Joseph terms Essaygate, but he does get another chance–another chance both to write the essay and to discover who he is. Joseph discovers he’s a sandwich–he’s a straight shooter with a depth that allows him to love kimchi and use chopsticks while also enjoying eating calamari (as a “calamari connoisseur” no less) and wearing a corno.

Rose Kent gives Joseph an authentic (and humorous) voice–he’s a multicultural teen grappling with where he comes from and where he’s going as he draws from all of the many influences in his life to develop his own unique identity. Kimchi & Calamari is a notable new multicultural work of children’s literature that will resonate with those who are adopted and those of diverse ethnicity but also with all those who are struggling to understand their place in this world (which is a pretty wide net). There’s also the food references to rope in food lovers and the first date angst for the budding romantics.

Kimchi & Calamari has been nominated for the 2007 Middle Grade Cybils Award. It’s up against some pretty stiff competition, such as Emma Jean Lazarus fell out of a Tree, so it will be interesting to wait and see…

Take-away quote:

His teacher Mrs. Peroutka: “…sometimes it feels like the here and now is all that matters, but we have legacies that help shape who we are.”

More Reviews: Book Bits, Paper Tigers, Becky’s Book Reviews, Mother Reader

A Couple of Author Interviews: Karen Day at classof2k7, A Year of Reading, Cynsations

More Korean American Children’s Literature: Bibliography of Korean American Children’s Literature (compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith) or WorldCat.org list for Korean American Juvenile Fiction (includes works by authors Linda Sue Park, An Na, Marie G. Lee, and more)

Reader’s interested in locating and evaluating additional multicultural children’s literature might also enjoy reading the New Horizons for Learning article by Jennifer Johnson Higgins entitled Multicultural Children’s Literature: An Evaluation Tool (with evaluations of sundry multicultural works at the end).

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