Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box
Written by Ellen Levine and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Publisher: Scholastic Press
January, 2007
Grade Levels: 3 and 4
Theme: Multicultural and Slavery( Underground Railroad)



Summary: Henry's Freedom Box is a picture book based on a true story. Henry Brown is a slave.  As a young boy he forced to leave his family to work in a warehouse. Henry meets another slave, they get married and have children. He is devastated when his family is sold in the slave market. Henry decides that if he ever is going to gain freedom he needs to mail himself where slavery doesn't exist. Henry mails himself north. 


 Reflection: This is such a great story! This picture book is simple to read, but provides a real life story about a slave and how brave he was. The illustrations are very nice.

Pre-Reading: I would complete a KWHL Chart with students. What they know or think they know about slavery. What they want to learn, how they can learn more and then after we read, what they learned about slavery from the book.

Post-Reading: We will go back and discuss the KWHL Chart and add to it. We will discuss the book.  Then the students will go back to their seats and write about their own escape from a slave's perspective.  The students will use descriptive words to describe their emotions leading up to the escape or during the escape.
About the Author:
Ellen Levine was born in New York City. She loved reading and that inspired her to become a writer. She studies at Brandie's University, University of Chicago and New York University. Besides writing she likes sculpting, illustrating and photography. She loves using her background and interests as topics for books.