This book is a great book to have in a library to show diversity. It tells the story of a young African-American boy named Henry Brown. Henry does not know when his actual birthday is because slaves were not allowed to know this information. Henry and his family worked very hard and thier master was very good to them. When Henry's master was dying, he thought his master might free him, but instead, he gave Henry to his son. Henry worked hard in his master's factory, but longed to be as free as a bird he had watched earlier. Henry could not afford to daydream, because if you made a mistake, the master would beat you. Henry met an African-American lady, Nancy, who was shopping for her mistress. They later became married and had a family. Nancy told Henry that her master was losing money. The master sold Henry's family. Henry decided to escape. Two men he had become acquainted with helped him. They put Henry in a box and addressed it to Philadelphia. Henry travelled by train and boat, sometimes upside down. He finally reached his destination. He arrived at a home in Philadelphia where friends of his acquaintances were waiting for him. He decided this date was now his birthday because is was the first day of his freedom.
This picture book should be on library shelves because of its ease of reading and the great pictures. The book tells a great story and one that will be easy for even elementary students to relate to. There is a note in the back from the author that has even more explanations about the story. The book tells how slave families were beaten, treated unfairly, and separated. The book tells these things without being crude or graphic.
Levine, Ellen. (2007). Henry and the Freedom Box. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Levine, Ellen. (2007). Retrieved on May 3, 2009 from website http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Henry+and+the+freedom+box&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=
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