Henry's Freedom Box

Book Cover:

Book Title: Henry’s Freedom Box

Book Summary:

Henry is a slave in the south; this is all he has ever known.  As his mom told him they might be separated in the future, and she was right.  Henry was sent to work at a tobacco company where he meets Nancy.  With the permission of their owners they got married and started a family.  Just as his momma told him when he was younger his family was sold and he wasn’t able to go with them.  He got really sad and then started hearing that there might be a place where there is no slavery.  He deiced it was a risk that he had to take so he shipped himself to the north.  He got into a box and was tossed and flipped sat on used as a table, he was quite through it all.  He finally made it to the north and was a free man.   

APA Reference:

Levine, E. (2007). Henry’s freedom box. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. 

My Impressions: It is sad that this was the way that life was for the slaves.  I feel that the subject matter might be to advanced how my Pre-K students, the pictures are what I would focus on with them.  The words where deep and makes you wonder what really went in the south.  It is so sad to read stories like this and realize that families were tore apart just cause. 

Professional Review:

In a true story that is both heartbreaking and joyful, Levine recounts the history of Henry "Box" Brown, born into slavery. Henry works in a tobacco factory, marries another slave, and fathers three children; but then his family is sold, and Henry realizes he will never see them again. With nothing to lose, Henry persuades his friend James and a sympathetic white man to mail him in a wooden box to Philadelphia and freedom. Levine maintains a dignified, measured tone, telling her powerful story through direct, simple language. A note at the end explains the historical basis for the fictionalized story. Accompanying Levine's fine, controlled telling are pencil, watercolor, and oil paint illustrations by Kadir Nelson that resonate with beauty and sorrow. When Henry's mother holds him as a child on her lap, they gaze out at bright autumn leaves, and the tenderness is palpable, even as she calls to his attention the leaves that "are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families." There is no sugarcoating here, and Henry is not miraculously reunited with his wife and children; however, the conclusion, as Henry celebrates his new freedom, is moving and satisfying.

Citation:

Lempke, S. D. (2007). Ellen Levine: Henry’s freedom box [Review of the book Henry’s freedom box: A true story from the Underground Railroad, by E. Levine]. The Horn Book Magazine, 83(2), 186.

Library Uses: I would use to introduce slavery and have the students try to see if the story is real and if they could find any other stories that are similar to Henry’s.