All boxed Up...

 

Title: Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground  Railroad

Author: Ellen Levine

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Publishing Company: Scholastic Press

Copyright Date: 2007

Pages: 40

Genre/Category: Historical

I chose this book after my EED 312 teacher read it as a read-aloud. The book is about a boy named Henry who is a slave,has no birthday, and does not know his age. After his master dies, Henry is given to the master son, separated from his family, and sent to work in a factory. One day, he meets a woman named Nancy, and he asks her to be his wife a few months later. They have three kids together and are happy, but they are worried that his family will be sold. Then one day, the thought becomes real; Henry watches as his family rides off in a wagon after being sold.  After that, all Henry would think about is being free, so he asks James and Dr. Smith to help him. He decides to mail himself to freedom to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Henry pours a bottle of oil of vitriol on his hand, which burns it to the bone, in order to stay home from work. The trip takes 27 hours for a 350-mile trip from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia. On March 3, 1849, Henry gets a birthday and is named Henry "Box" Brown.

The illustrations are done on double-page spread with crosshatching. The illustrator used pencil, oil, and watercolors of brown, black, and red. The pictures show realism from the characters expressions.

I would recommend this book for second and fourth graders.  This would be a great way to introduce a social studies unit on slavery. It could be used for an Open-Mind portrait and shared during Black History Month. Questions that could be asked about this book are how long do the children think the trip took, what was the size of the book, or how do you think he felt after losing his family twice? Awards this book has received are the 2008 Caldecott Honor Award,  ALA Notable, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People (CBC & NCSS), Notable Books for a Global Society, (IRA), Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) best-of-the-year, and Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award.