Henry's Freedom Box

Book: Henry's Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson 
Genre: Historical Fiction

Major Awards: Caldecott Honor
Age Group: 1st - 5th 
Summary:

Henry Brown, a slave, worked with his family in a big house in a plantation where his master lived. One day, his master informed him that he was going to send Henry off to work with his son because he is a good worker. Henry was sad, but didn't show it, as it meant that he would be separated from his family. His new life was rough, until he met a girl named Nancy who was also a slave. Henry and Nancy got married, but got separated from each other and their kids when they were sold at a slave market. From that moment on, Henry couldn't sing anymore and decided he would not put up with being a slave anymore! He met up with James and Dr. Smith to create a plan to mail himself to Philadelphia in a box where there was no slavery. His plan succeeded and he arrived on March 30, 1849 and he was known as Henry "Box" Brown. 

Evaluation & Comments: I'm glad I decided to pick up this book and read it because the cover always caught my attention. I thought it was fascinating how he was able to be squished into a box for hours, being flipped around all kinds of ways, and made it to freedom! I don't think I would be able to be in a position for that long, unless I was really determined. I would totally use this book in my classroom! The story had short sentences that were informational so that students can find it interesting and learn about history as they read the story. I think it would be an engaging read aloud because of the illustrations and plot, it definitely had me hooked page by page.     

For the activity ideas, I would say to do a read aloud with the class. Another idea could be to have the students create their own plan for escaping to freedom. Students would have to put themselves in Henry's shoes and consider his situation. Then, once they finish, they can feel free to share as a whole class or do a gallery walk. Everybody has different ideas, so it could be cool to see different points of view.