Book cover image:
Taken from Goodreads.com (Goodreads, Inc., n.d.)
Genre:
The book Henry’s freedom box: A true story from the Underground Railroad by
Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson was listed in the class as a historical fiction
picture book but could easily fit into the realm of realistic fiction, if it is
in fact appropriate to even list it as fiction. I am struggling with why it is
not listed as non-fiction or biography because Henry ‘Box’ Brown was a real man
who really did escape slavery in a box.
Is it because there are not enough verifiable facts to the story? Did the author have to fill in too many
blanks to create this captivating story? I am captivated by slave literature
and history, so I know I will be digging into this much more as time
allows.
Book Summary:
This book explores the life of
Henry Brown from his time as a young slave boy who is sold into slavery to his
escape from slavery as an adult by way of a wooden crate. When Henry is a young boy his master falls
ill and passes him on to his son, separating him from his family. Henry grows up and marries Nancy, another
slave, and they have three children, all while still being enslaved. His wife and children end up being sold at
the slave market, leaving Henry devastated.
Henry longed to be free and crafted the idea to ship himself in a box to
Philadelphia, with the help of a white man who was part of the Underground
Railroad, where he could finally live as a free man. The journey in the box,
being transported by steamboat and railcar, was not easy but he finally makes
it and is given the nickname Henry ‘Box’ Brown.
APA Reference of Book:
Levine, E.,
& Nelson, K. (2007). Henry's freedom
box: A true story from the Underground Railroad. New York: Scholastic
Press.
Impressions:
My very first thought after
reading this book was WOW! I wanted more of the story the second I finished,
and I very grateful for the author’s note at the end that tells a little more
about Henry Brown and his incredible journey to freedom. Not only is the story
well told for the level of the intended audience, but the pictures are
captivating and compliment to the story very well. The story itself invokes emotions, but the illustrations
do so even more. As an adult reader I do
wish there was more written story, but the illustrations did give more depth to
the story in a visual way. In my honest
opinion, I think that without the illustrations, the story would not have
received the awards, nominations, and high acclaim than it did. Starting on the very first page, you see
young Henry sitting on a wooden barrel with his arms resting on his knees and
his hands loosely clasped together.
There is no smile on his face, and his eyes look as if he is already
weary from the life of slavery. We are
not certain exactly how old his is, because “slaves weren’t allowed to know
their birthdays” but he is probably 8 or 9 years old and he lacks the carefree
innocence and joy of youth that a boy his age should have. All of this is illustrated on the first two
pages of the story! As I said, I am craving more of the story, but considering
this book was written for 2nd – 5th grade readers, plenty
is given to introduce the hardships of slavery and the Underground
Railroad. When Henry ends up in the tobacco
factory, we see him handling the tobacco leaves very carefully while his master
is in the background overseeing the work with a stick behind his back. If he is not careful he will be beaten with
that stick, so he works diligently to do a good job. A young reader really doesn’t need anymore
than that until they are a little older and can handle the harsh realities of
slavery under an abusive master. Despite
all this, Henry does fall in love with a beautiful woman named Nancy who is
owned by another master and they get permission to marry and end up having three
children. The illustrator shows us a
happy family with three young children all cuddled in their mom’s lap while dad
plays them music. Even in this
happiness, mom and dad know that it could very well be short-lived because
Nancy’s master had lost a lot of money. The
mom and children end up being sold and we see the heartbreak, fear and
devastation told in the illustrations which is what ends up driving Henry to
plan his escape out of slavery. This is
truly a fantastic story for young readers and one that I hope and pray is used
in classrooms, libraries, and homes to begin teaching young people about the
history of America. It doesn’t sugar
coat the issues and it doesn’t appear that the author is trying to push a
personal agenda out through the story, which I think is great for young
readers. Historical stories should
present all the facts from both sides and allow children to learn and formulate
their own thoughts about our history.
American history contains a lot of racism and events that are
uncomfortable and many of the situations were not handled well by our
government. Stories like this introduce
these things to our children and help them develop empathy and hopefully they
will grow up and not repeat these types of events and they will make America a
better place for all people regardless of race, gender, etc.
Professional Review:
Reviewed on March 1, 2007 by Catherine
Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC Reviewed in School Library
Journal and posted online
on Book Verdict
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.
APA Reference of Professional Review:
Media Source
Book Verdict. (2007, March 1). Henry's
freedom box. Retrieved April 6, 2018, from Book Verdict:
http://bookverdict.com/details.xqy?uri=Product-98843590.xml
Library Uses:
There are many wonderful ways
to incorporate this book into a social studies lesson in an elementary classroom
to introduce the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad. Without a doubt it is vitally important to
discuss slavery, freedom, and why Henry risked everything, including his life
to ship himself to freedom. In addition
to the history and social studies lessons, which are vitally important, you can
easily go beyond that and expand the lesson.
The illustrations in this book are incredible and tell just as much of the
story as the text itself. To enhance comprehension
and understanding of both the story and the impact of slavery, the teacher or
librarian can work with the students to make connections between the text and illustrations. Students can explore each illustration and see
how the illustrators used them to convey feelings and emotions. Books for young
readers covering racial issues from our past can be uncomfortable due to the mistreatment
of people of color. They have a bigger
purpose, and that is one of teaching understanding and empathy for the way people
were treated in the past. By learning
about all aspects of the past, children can grow up and make our future a
better place for ALL people.
There are a couple fantastic
resources that compliment this book, so here are the links.
Here is a Scholastic Teacher’s
Activity Guide slideshow, The Underground Railroad: Escape from slavery.
In my quest to find more information
on Henry ‘Box’ Brown (despite the need to do A LOT of homework), I came across an
interesting article. The article is on
Common-place.org and is titled Will the real Henry ‘Box’ Brown please stand up?.
Readalikes:
There are many different ways
to go about finding readalikes, and for this blog, I will look at other picture
books that explore early American history and the impacts of racism and
discrimination in our early history.
Baseball saved us by Ken Mochizuki is told from the point
of view of a young Japanese American boy who along with his family was forced into
internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Baseball, America’s favorite
past time, is used as a diversion for the families in the camp who had been
ripped from their homes just because they are Japanese. This is an ugly part of
US history, but one that should not be forgotten. The story is inspired by actual events and is
will written and beautifully illustrated.
Sojourner Truth’s step-stomp stride written
by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney is an awesome read-aloud
picture book that tells the story of Belle, who later changed her name to
Sojourner. This brave woman escaped
slavery and set out across America to fight for equal rights for black people
and for women. Sojourner played a big
part in changing America and bringing attention to the injustice of slavery and
the way women were treated during the time-period.
My last readalike is a little
more lighthearted, but a favorite of mine and my young nieces who ask to read
this all the time and are being introduced to amazing women from American
history. My name is not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry introduces young readers to Sally Ride, Rosa Parks,
Elisabeth Blackwell, and many more who fought to end discrimination and change
the world one cause at a time. The book
is much simpler than the previous titles listed, but it is inspiring and
features short biographies of each woman listed to lead children deeper into
the history.
Checkout my Goodreads list of children and youth literature I read during
the Spring 2018 Semester at UNT.
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