Written by Christopher Paul Curtis
This book is a companion to Elijah of Buxton. It takes place mostly in the Buxton area of Canada, 40 years after the first book. It’s about the same area but some of the characters are the younger kids. This one is about Benji, a descendant of slaves, and Red, an Irish descendant. Both boys are very bright and ambitious. Benji want to be a newspaper reporter and gets a job at the newspaper in Chatham where Red lives. They meet at the annual debate where they are rooting for their friends and decide it is too hot to sit there and they take off to a swimming hole and become fast friends. Benji also loves the woods and knows them like the back of his hand. The Madman of Piney woods is kind of a legend that the parents tell their kids about to scare them so they won’t go into the woods. Benji always feels safe in the woods and wants them to be only his. The Madman watches him and watches over him. The Madman was a child in the first book and in the second one he is probably in his fifties.
Review by Kathy Horne, Redwood Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-7
Author Website: http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com/
The Madman of Piney Woods
Written by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Press
384 pages
Release Date: September 30, 2014
ISBN: 9780545156646 (hardcover)
Nice review.