Book Cover Image:
Book Summary: Henry
has grown up a slave. The story follows
Henry’s childhood in slavery, through his time growing up, on into marriage and
beginning a family. Of course, life as
a slave is rough for Henry. One day, Henry
experiences a horrible tragedy. His wife
and children are sold at a slave market.
When this occurs, he knows he will never see them again. He decides that it is time for him to escape
to freedom. He comes up with the idea to
mail himself in a wooden box to a free state. Two friends, including a white doctor who
disagreed with slavery help him to pull this off and Henry is sent to
Philadelphia. The remaining parts of the
story document his journey, where he is extremely uncomfortable cramped in the
box, but eventually reaches freedom. This touching story is based on the true
runaway slave, Henry Brown.
APA Reference of
Book:
Levine, E. (2007). Henry’s
freedom box: A true story from the
Underground Railroad.
New York, NY. Scholastic Press.
Impressions: This
story provides readers with a true glimpse into some of the terrible events
that occurred during slavery. At the
same time, it reveals that there were people who stood up against slavery and
helped people like Henry find a better future in freedom. The illustrations by Mr. Nelson are beautiful
and add to the story told by Levine.
This would be an excellent book to read to students wanting to
understand more about this time period, particularly due to its factual
relevance.
I believe this could be an emotional read for some children
due to the sad events that occur. Some
of them might not be aware that people never saw their children or spouses
again and that selling people to others was a legal act. It would be important when reading such books
to carefully discuss this topic. At the
same time, this is a story of hope and I appreciate that it shows the fact that
good-hearted, brave people did exist.
Readers can see that people stood up against the horrible things
happening in this time period.
This book is a particularly good historical fiction book in
my opinion, because it presents students with a story of someone that they
likely had never heard of. I know that
personally Henry’s story was new to me, but I enjoyed learning about this story
from the past. I think it is wonderful
that readers can learn about the different ways in which people escaped
slavery. Many will have heard of
Underground Railroad, but I do not think many will know that things like this
happened. I appreciate that this bit of
history is available in an enjoyable way for kids to learn about.
Professional
Review:
School Library Journal
-
Gr 2-5- Inspired by an
actual 1830s lithograph, this beautifully crafted picture book briefly relates
the story of Henry "Box" Brown's daring escape from
slavery. Torn from his mother as a child, and then forcibly separated from his
wife and children as an adult, a heartsick and desperate Brown conspired with
abolitionists and successfully traveled north to Philadelphia in a packing
crate. His journey took just over one full day, during which he was often
sideways or upside down in a wooden crate large enough to hold him, but small
enough not to betray its contents. The story ends with a reimagining of the
lithograph that inspired it, in which Henry
Brown emerges from his unhappy confinement-in every sense of the word-and
smiles upon his arrival in a comfortable Pennsylvania parlor. Particularly
considering the broad scope of Levine's otherwise well-written story, some of
the ancillary "facts" related in her text are unnecessarily dubious;
reports vary, for instance, as to whether the man who sealed Henry into the crate was a doctor or a
cobbler. And, while the text places Henry's
arrival on March 30, other sources claim March 24 or 25. Nelson's illustrations,
always powerful and nuanced, depict the evolution of a self-possessed child
into a determined and fearless young man. While some of the specifics are
unfortunately questionable, this book solidly conveys the generalities of Henry Brown's story.
Source: Threadgill, C. (2007). Henry’s freedom box: A true story. [Review
of the book
Henry’s freedom box: A true story from the Underground Railroad by E.
Levine]. School Library Journal. 176. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2052/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=256569
Found Through: UNT Library Database – LexisNexis Academic
Library Uses: This would be a great historical lesson
for students. There are several great
ideas provided by Scholastic to use with this book (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/henrys-freedom-box-storia-teaching-guide-0). I particularly like the idea of having the
students interact with the National Geographic Educational game (http://education.nationalgeographic.com/media/underground-railroad-journey-freedom/)
where they are asked to make choices as they make their way north on the Underground
Railroad. I think this allows them to
make text-to-self connections, as they are able to experience some of the
things that people during this time experienced. I would have them work with a partner on this
activity so they could discuss and collaborate on the best decisions to make.
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