The Madman Of Piney Woods

The Madman Of Piney Woods by Christopher Paul Curtis, 363 pages

This book is from the perspective of two boys; Benji, an African Canadian boy from Buxton and Red, and Irish Canadian boy from Chatham.  At the beginning, the two boys don’t know each other at all and the stories are simply about their separate lives.  We get to learn a lot about them.  Benji has a younger sister and brother who are extremely gifted at woodworking and he wants to be a writer and a journalist.  Red’s mother died when he was young and his grandmother, who had a hard life growing up and actually abuses Red somewhat, lives with him and his father.  Both boys are aware of the legend of the Madman of Piney Woods, although Red has a different name for him, and both boys have a healthy fear of him.  However, both of their lives change when they actually meet the man and each other.  This is a very good reality story for kids who like historical fiction.