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Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis brings his trademark humor and heart to the story of a boy struggling to do right in the face of history's cruelest evils. The National Book Award finalist by Christopher Paul Curtis! Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died and Cap'n Buck -- the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina -- has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap'n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap'n and his boss. It's not too bad of a bargain for Charlie... until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move -- and soon. It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Buck catches on.Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis brings his trademark humor and heart to this story of a boy struggling to do right in the face of history's cruelest evils.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Sweat was pouring out of every part of my body. We'd been standing in the alley for the longest time afore the Cap'n finally said, "Don't turn now, that's her with the sack and the bonnet." The Cap'n had me as a shield, ducking behind me so the woman couldn't see him. Soon's she walked on by the alley he give me a shove and I was on the sidewalk behind the woman. Following the plan I run out in the street till I was ten yards past then turned to face her. I said, "'Scuse me, Ma'am, do you know where..." Both me and the woman gasped. I thought the Cap'n had made a mistake, 'cause whilst this woman did have a eye patch and a scar running 'crost her cheek, he hadn't said nothing 'bout her skin! She was colored! How could a woman who didn't look no different than the slaves I'd seent 'round Possum Moan be the leader of a gang that robbed Mr. Tanner of four thousand dollars? Excerpted from The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Echoing themes found in Curtis's Newbery Honor-winning Elijah of Buxton, this exceedingly tense novel set in 1858 provides a very different perspective on the business of catching runaway slaves. Eking out a living as South Carolina sharecroppers, the Bobo family knows hard luck. After 12-year-old Charlie's father is killed in a freak accident, Charlie reluctantly agrees to pay off his father's debt by accompanying a plantation overseer, the despicable Captain Buck, on a hunt for three runaways. Charlie's journey takes him north to Detroit and Canada where black people and white people work and live peaceably together. Sickened by the dirty business of rounding up former enslaved men and women, Charlie hatches a risky scheme to steer them to safety. Curtis portrays Charlie as a product of his white Southern upbringing and values, skillfully conveying how his widening view of the world leads to a change in his thinking. Written in persuasive dialect and piloted by a hero who finds the courage to do what he knows is right, Curtis's unsparing novel pulls no punches as it illuminates an ugly chapter of American history. Ages 9-12. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8-Oversized like an ox, 12-year-old Charlie Bobo and his sharecropper parents eke out a living on the Tanner Plantation deep in South Carolina in 1858. When an accident takes his father's life, Charlie and his mother must settle a debt with the plantation's sadistic overseer, Cap'n Buck. The despicable overseer forces Charlie to accompany him to Detroit to retrieve $4,000 worth of stolen property. Charlie's journey covers more than miles as he finally realizes the stolen property isn't material but human. Outside his norm of Southern life, he sees his white privilege and the horrors of people claiming ownership of other people. It truly sickens him, but he feels trapped by his father's debt. Cap'n Buck and Charlie venture into Canada to capture their last fugitive slave: Sylvanus, a boy just Charlie's age. When he sees the similarities in their lives despite their different races, Charlie knows he cannot be party to the legal evil of slavery any longer ("I knowed Sylvanus and his ma and pa was gonna be slaves 'gain. And I knowed it would be my doings that caused it."). Charlie alters the course of his journey right then, changing his life forever. His choice shows that no matter one's upbringing-Charlie lived in poverty, racism, and ignorance-a person can choose right. Curtis's use of dialect lends the story authenticity, though it may slow down less confident readers. The violence of slavery is not shied away from and use of historically accurate, derogatory terms for black people are used. Young readers will benefit from discussion during and after reading. VERDICT A thought-provoking book from a master storyteller.-Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Little Charlie Bobo, 12, is not so little in fact, he's big enough that the cruel plantation overseer, Cap'n Buck, forces him, in lieu of paying a family debt, to join him traveling from South Carol-liney all the way to Dee-troit to collar a gang of thieves who stole from Buck's boss. Readers may guess it before Bobo figures it out: the thieves are enslaved people who escaped to Canada's freedom, and what they stole was themselves. In this third volume of Curtis' celebrated Buxton Chronicles, the focus is on penniless, white Charlie, who must come to terms with the job for which he's been drafted and hopefully orient his moral compass. It's a daring gambit that pays off: Charlie's emotions swing from initial fear to later excitement to eventual dread. The subject matter can be brutal Bobo speaks somewhat graphically of torture and killing but Curtis is unafraid to show Charlie periodically enjoying himself. Even Buck, a broad villain to begin with, develops fascinating facets. Ultimately inspiring, but never simplistic, this should spark plenty of discussion.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2018 Booklist

Horn Book Review

In 1858 South Carolina, twelve-year-old Charlie Bobo must go north with a plantation overseer to find "thieves." When white, ignorant Charlie (a product of his circumstances) is forced to be complicit in the slave trade, he finds his conscience and does the right thing. While shorter than its Buxton Chronicles predecessors (Elijah of Buxton; The Madman of Piney Woods), this tale is just as powerful, masterfully intertwining humor and tragedy. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

A white sharecroppers' son finds himself on a mission to recapture a family that has escaped slavery.A few weeks after the death of Little Charlie Bobo's father, Cap'n Buck, the overseer of the plantation on which they farm, tells the 12-year-old and his ma that the elder Charlie Bobo had taken a down payment on a job to recover lost property. In this way, Charlie becomes a partner with a man known for his cruelty on a mission to track enslaved people. When Cap'n Buck finds the family he is looking for, he discovers the son of the family, Sylvanus Demarest, is attending school in Canada, and their mission becomes an international kidnapping. Newbery winner Curtis once again successfully draws on the stories about enslaved people who found freedom in Canada; the pursuit of Sylvanus Demarest is based on an actual incident. By seeing the story through the eyes of a poor white boy and a white overseer, readers confront how so many were connected by slavery. Curtis demonstrates in dramatic fashion how much the formerly enslaved valued their freedom and what they were willing to do to help one of their own remain free. The narrative is briskly paced, and both Little Charlie and Sylvanus are compelling characters. The Southern whites speak in dialect, and they refer to black people with the offensive term "darkie," both authentic to the 1858 setting. A characteristically lively and complex addition to the historical fiction of the era from Curtis. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.