Friday, July 8, 2011

Henry's Freedom Box








  • year of publication:  2007
  • publisher city:  New York, NY
  • publisher:  Scholastic Press
  • ISBN:  978-0-439-77733-9
  • Caldecott Honor Book, 2008
 annotation:  A fictionalized account of how in 1849 a Virginia slave, Henry "Box" Brown, escapes to freedom by shipping himself in a wooden crate from Richmond to Philadelphia.

personal thoughts:  The story of Henry "Box" Brown is a triumphant story of a slave making his own way to freedom by hiding in a box mailed to Pennsylvania.  I am impressed by Nelson's fantastic artwork, which drives the story more than Levine's text.  Every face and page is detailed and shaded beautifully and the scene is somber when it needs to be and light when happy times are displayed.  The protagonist, Henry has such a sad life that it was hard for me to feel joy for his attainment of freedom, knowing that he had his entire family taken from him, never to be seen again.  This book is a story of redemption with great artwork and good insight into a niche in the underground railroad.

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