Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story From the Underground Railroad
By Ellen Levine
Illustrator, Kadir Nelson
Henry’s Freedom Box is based on an unforgettable, jaw-dropping, true story about slavery and freedom. It is a read for all ages… including adults. The illustrations are life like, sketched in cross-hatch then painted, reflecting the sad mood of this time in history. Because of the outstanding illustrations, Henry’s Freedom Box earned a Caldecott Honor in 2008 as one of the most distinguished American picture books for children.
Henry Brown was a young man and slave in the mid 1800s in Richmond, Virginia. He worked in a tobacco factory. His master was unkind and his wife and children had just been sold. He was alone and wanted to escape.
In spite of being extremely dangerous, Henry Brown decided to have himself shipped in a crate to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a place that was part of the underground railway. He devised a very painful plan to get the day off from work. After attaching a shipping label to his crate, his friends nailed him in and took him to the railway station where the crate was tipped over and tossed roughly into a baggage car.
What was Henry’s painful plan to get the day off from twisting tobacco leaves? What if he sneezed when he was in the crate? How long could he survive upside down in the crate? Would he continue to be tossed around? What if someone wanted to know what was in the crate? Would he survive this perilous journey?
Read this amazing book with amazing pictures. Read the author’s notes, too, as they are always of great value in historical fiction. You will likely remember Henry Brown’s story for a long time, if not forever!
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