68 pages • 2 hours read
Elijah of Buxton
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During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
CHAPTERS 1-5
Reading Check
1. How does Elijah get back at his mother for shaming his fear of hoop snakes?
2. What does Elijah see coming out of the woods after the “slave catcher” scare?
3. What does Elijah find interesting about the way Mr. Leroy eats fish?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What does Elijah’s mother mean when she calls him “fra-gile?”
2. Why was Frederick Douglass holding Elijah during a speech at Buxton?
3. Describe “rock fishing.”
Paired Resources
“Escaping Slavery: The Consequences of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 via The Library of Congress Blog” and “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 in The Canadian Encyclopedia”
- These articles provide students with background information on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which empowered bounty hunters and federal agents to follow enslaved Africans to places that were formerly safe havens and force them back to slavery. The second resource discusses the role that Canada played in pushing back against the law and those who tried to enact it on its soil and other nearby American territories.
- These resources relate to the novel’s theme of Connections Between Opportunity, Equality, and Freedom.
- Despite being in a place that outlawed enslavement, why are Elijah and his community members so shaken by the appearance of “slave catchers” near Buxton?
“Frederick Douglass’ Incredible Legacy”
- This 5-minute video from History describes the life of Frederick Douglass.
- This information will provide students with background information on Douglass and his legacy.
- Why might the author have created a role for this historical figure in the novel?
CHAPTERS 6-7
Reading Check
1. How does Cooter “throw [Elijah] to the wolfs?” (Chapter 6)
2. Why does Mr. Leroy backhand Elijah while they are walking through the woods at night?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why are Cooter’s father and the other “growned folks” suspicious of the children’s teacher, Mr. Travis?
2. What is Cooter and Elijah’s misinterpretation of the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt?” Why did they have this mix-up? (Chapter 6)
3. What is Mr. Leroy carrying around that can’t be seen with “your regular eyes,” as Elijah’s father says? (Chapter 7)
CHAPTERS 8-10
Reading Check
1. Who does Elijah recognize as playing MaWee, Madame Sabbar’s enemy at the carnival showcase?
2. What are some of the sights Elijah sees on the banners on his way to the Mesmerist’s tent?
3. What kind of laughter did Elijah hear around the Mesmerist’s tent when Sammy was undressing at “the lake?”
4. What is so impressive about Elijah’s stone-throwing talents?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does the author hint to readers that Madame Sabbar’s performance is fake?
2. What is a “flimflam”? Why doesn’t Elijah think the Mesmerist’s act is flimflam?
3. Why did the Preacher take Elijah to the carnival?
4. How does MaWee end up at Elijah’s school?
Paired Resources
- This brief article from The National Endowment for the Humanities describes a famous circus that traveled the country; parallels exist to the circus that Elijah encounters in Chatham. (Content Warning; Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to mature content)
- Merriam-Webster lists definitions for “conjure.” Students might find these useful to help understand Elijah’s perspective on the Mesmerist.
- Based on these definitions of “conjure,” do you believe the Mesmerist is a conjurer, like Elijah believes? Why or why not?
“What Is Hoodoo, Conjure and Rootwork?”
- This resource by practitioner and professor Denise M. Alvarado places the idea of “conjure” in historical and cultural context. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to mature content and complexity)
- This resource can provide teachers with context regarding the stigma that typically surrounds spiritual practices rooted in African religious traditions.
CHAPTERS 11-15
Reading Check
1. Why does the newly freed woman fear that her child is sick?
2. What does Elijah and the rest of the community learn about the newly freed woman who arrives at Buxton?
3. Why does Elijah like trips to Lake Erie?
4. What does Mrs. Holton pay Mr. Leroy for the special job he and Elijah complete for her?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Elijah say that crying is like the measles or the chicken pox?
2. What does Mr. Polite mean when he says he wants to receive his package “afore the twentieth century gets here”? (Chapter 13)
3. What made Elijah suspect that the contents of the envelope meant very bad news?
4. Why does Pa bury the piece of peach pie that Ma gives them for dessert?
Paired Resources
“Self-Emancipation: The Act of Freeing Oneself From Slavery”
- This article from American Battlefield Trust describes the risks and challenges enslaved Africans encountered during their escapes from slavery. It also details four escapes, including the methods used by those seeking freedom.
- The information in this resource connects with the theme of Connections Between Opportunity, Equality, and Freedom.
- This article from the National Museum of African American History and Culture describes famous escapes, shows paths to freedom on a map, and includes images of primary source documents (paintings, photos, and advertisements for escaped formerly enslaved Africans). It also explains why some might have chosen death over recapture, which will help students understand the novel’s final act.
- The information in this resource connects with the theme of Connections Between Opportunity, Equality, and Freedom.
- Considering the dangers met by enslaved people on the paths to self-emancipation described in these resources, why would the newly freed family (Alice, her husband, and their children) be wary upon arriving in Buxton?
CHAPTERS 16-20
Reading Check
1. How does Mr. Hightower get back to Buxton?
2. Why does Mr. Leroy try to kidnap Elijah?
3. Who is the “stealer of dreams”? (Chapter 19)
4. How does Mr. Leroy die?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What reasons does Pa give to Mr. Leroy when he warns him not to trust the Preacher?
2. Why does Elijah ultimately tell Mr. Leroy that he can trust the Preacher?
3. What do Elijah and Mr. Leroy learn about Zephariah, the Preacher, when they arrive at the logging town?
Paired Resource
“Warning Signs of a Heart Attack”
- This reference article describes the signs of a heart attack.
- The information may help readers better understand the novel’s description of Mr. Leroy‘s heart attack.
CHAPTERS 21-24
Reading Check
1. How does Elijah get past the “bear-fighting dog”? (Chapter 21)
2. In what condition does Elijah find the Preacher?
3. What does Elijah end up doing with the Preacher’s gun?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Elijah describe the strange smell in the stable as the smell of fear? What does he understand about the enslaved people’s feelings?
2. How does Elijah help Ms. Chloe fulfill her promise to her daughter?
3. What is “The Revenge of Mr. Fredrick Douglass”? (Chapter 24)
Recommended Next Reads
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson’s
- This winner of the Newbery Medal is set in a free settlement in Virginia; the main character is a 12-year-old boy who risks helping to free his mother.
- Shared themes include Connections Between Opportunity, Equality, and Freedom and The Strength of Community and Family.
- Freewater on SuperSummary
The Madman of Piney Woods by Christopher Paul Curtis’s
- This middle grade historical novel takes place in Buxton 40 years after the events of Elijah of Buxton. Two boys of different races meet and become friends, and readers see their separate yet overlapping worlds through their eyes.
- Shared topics include freedom, slavery, and the impact of racism.
- The Madman of Piney Woods on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-5
Reading Check
1. Elijah puts a frog or toad in her sewing basket. (Chapter 1)
2. A white horse with no rider, wearing a saddle (Chapter 4)
3. Mr. Leroy eats the whole fish—bones, fins, and all—without choking on any of it. (Chapter 5)
Short Answer
1. Elijah’s mother means that Elijah is gullible and easily frightened, or emotionally moved. He sometimes cries, screams, and runs away too easily. (Chapter 1)
2. Elijah was the first child born free in the Buxton settlement; Frederick Douglass was making a point about freedom. (Chapter 2)
3. Elijah uses stones he specially selects because they are easy to throw at the heads of fish, without disturbing the water too much. He knocks the fish out with the rocks and collects them when they float to the top of the water. (Chapter 3)
CHAPTERS 6-7
Reading Check
1. Cooter says Elijah is the one who shared with him the meaning of “familiarity breeds contempt.” (Chapter 6)
2. Elijah started to say the n-word or some variation of that slur; Mr. Leroy reacts by striking Elijah and explaining how that word is filled with hatred and oppression, no matter who speaks it. (Chapter 7)
Short Answer
1. Mr. Travis is from New York and was born and raised free. These facts of his life imply to some adults in the community that his values and the community’s values may not always align. (Chapter 6)
2. Cooter and Elijah think the phrase refers to a “family breeding contest;” they think they will be learning about sex. This results from their trying (and failing) to make connections to words they already know, but the only word they really know is “breeds.” (Chapter 6)
3. Mr. Leroy is carrying grief and pain that results from the loss of his wife and children, who are still in slavery. This emotional pain and torture is caused by people who look like him as well as those who do not. (Chapter 7)
CHAPTERS 8-10
Reading Check
1. Jimmy Blessingame, a boy from his school (Chapter 8)
2. A man who looks to be half man/half alligator; a woman who appeared to have baby limbs growing out her neck; a strongman (Chapter 9)
3. Cruel, mean-spirited laughter; bullying laughter (Chapter 9)
4. Elijah is highly accurate, very fast, and can throw the same quality of throws with both his left and right hand. (Chapter 10)
Short Answer
1. The sign says Madame Sabbar has killed all the lions in Sweden, and an audience member points out that there were no lions in Sweden to begin with. (Chapter 8)
2. A flimflam is a scam or a con of some kind. Elijah tends to believe everything people tell him; he is gullible, so he believes the Mesmerist has actual powers. (Chapter 9)
3. The Preacher expected to be able to hire Elijah out to the carnival and make money from Elijah’s stone-throwing talent. (Chapter 10)
4. When the Preacher finds out that MaWee had been sold to the Carnival to work as an enslaved child, he returns to the Carnival and takes the boy away at gunpoint, essentially helping him escape slavery. (Chapter 10)
CHAPTERS 11-15
Reading Check
1. The newly freed woman gave the baby sleeping medicine the day before, and the baby hasn’t been awake since then. (Chapter 11)
2. The newly freed woman is Mrs. Duncan 1 and 2’s long-lost sister. Her real name is Alice. (Chapter 12)
3. In the wagon on the way to Lake Erie, Elijah is able to overhear adult conversations without the adults paying attention to whether children are listening. (Chapter 14)
4. Mrs. Holton gives him $2200 in gold so he can purchase his family’s freedom. (Chapter 15)
Short Answer
1. Seeing other people cry makes Elijah cry, as if crying is contagious; the same is true for many people who are prone to feeling sensitive and showing their emotions. (Chapter 11)
2. Elijah has chosen a slow mode of transportation (a mule). Mr. Polite wants him to take a horse instead, but the speed of horses makes Elijah nervous. (Chapter 13)
3. The letter is from America, which is almost never good news. The good handwriting makes it seem even more dire; these clues suggest that someone has written to tell Mrs. Holton that her husband has died. (Chapter 13)
4. Pa doesn’t like Ma’s desserts, but he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings or anger her by refusing the pie. (Chapter 14)
CHAPTERS 16-20
Reading Check
1. Some free Black people outside of Detroit find him, nurse him, and arrange transportation back to Buxton for him. (Chapter 17)
2. Mr. Leroy still wants to go to Michigan, and he needs someone who can read. He also thinks Elijah is smart and crafty enough to be useful in a potentially tricky situation. (Chapter 19)
3. The Preacher, Zephariah (Chapter 19)
4. Mr. Leroy likely dies of a heart attack. (Chapter 20)
Short Answer
1. The Preacher is young, and he doesn’t live in the settlement, so he isn’t beholden to their rules. No one knows where he is from or how he acquired the fancy gun. Pa doesn’t know if he is really a preacher or where he lived before. (Chapter 16)
2. Even though Elijah has witnessed some of the Preacher’s questionable actions, he cannot believe that anyone would steal the money another person was using to buy their family’s freedom. (Chapter 16)
3. The Preacher has been gambling with Mr. Leroy’s money, and the men of the town think he was cheating. This means the Preacher’s intent on his current trip to the logging town is to gamble and possibly cheat some white men out of their money. (Chapter 20)
CHAPTERS 21-24
Reading Check
1. Elijah uses his stone-throwing skills to knock the dog out. (Chapter 21)
2. Dead and strung up in the stable (Chapter 21)
3. Elijah gives the gun to the enslaved woman he encounters in the stables (Ms. Chloe). (Chapter 22)
Short Answer
1. Elijah understands intuitively the suffering the men and women in chains have endured. He understands that the people had been captured and were going to be returned to slavery. He feels their anguish when he tells them how close they are to Canada and the relief they feel at having an opportunity to drink water. (Chapter 21)
2. Elijah takes the baby to Buxton; the promise Ms. Chloe made was that her daughter would grow up in freedom. (Chapter 24)
3. Baby Hope/Tumaini vomits on Elijah the same way Elijah vomited on Frederick Douglass when Elijah was a baby. (Chapter 24)
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