Author Christopher Paul Curtis’ book Elijah of Buxton emerged from his desire to write something about slavery. Usually trying to walk in the shoes of a character so as to bring that character to life on the page — as he had with all his previous characters and books — Mr. Curtis says it was not in his power to imagine the experience of being a slave and being dehumanized that way. The recipient of the Newbery Medal and winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, the author tells a powerful story, and in fact wrote the book with surprising speed and ease.
