Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine tells the true story of Henry, a slave who has a brilliant idea to mail himself to a free state in a wooden crate.
Summary
Henry is a slave who is owned by a master who is good to him, but things change when the master dies and gives Henry to his son. The son works Henry hard in a tobacco factory. Despite the difficult days, Henry meets a slave girl from another plantation and they are allowed to get married. They even are allowed to live together and have children.
However, one day while Henry is at work, another slave comes to tell him that his wife and children have been sold to another owner. Henry is heartbroken that his family has been taken from him. His life is meaningless without them and he can only think of how to escape to freedom.
One day he devises a plan to get into a wooden shipping crate and mail himself to a free state. His friends help him hide in the box and address the box to a man who can help him in Philadelphia. Although the journey is very rough, Henry arrives in Pennsylvania and is able to live the rest of his life as a free man.
Impressions
The incredible illustrations convey this true story with depth and character. The colors are vivid and many of them have a crackled crosshatch texture that makes them look worn. The story is full of drama and suspense and is told with honesty that will make most children ask questions about why this was happening and for a confirmation that this is a true story. The feelings of despair, loneliness, hope, joy, and the closeness of family come through in the way that Levine describes the characters as well as through the illustrations. The description and pictures from the 27 hour long trip are especially real.
Professional Reviews
In a true story that is both heartbreaking and joyful, Levine recoutns the history of Henry “Box” Brown, born into slavery. Henry works in a tobacco factory, marries another slave, and fathers three children; but then his family is sold, and Henry persuades his friend James and a sympathetic white man to mail him in a wooden box to Philadelphia and freedom. Levine maintains a dignified measured tone, telling her powerful story through direct, simple language. A note at the end explains the historical basis for the fictionalized story. Accompanying Levine’s fine controlled telling are pencil, watercolor, and oil pain illustrations by Kadir Nelson that resonate with beauty and sorrow. When Henry’s mother hold him as a child on her lap, they gaze out at bright autumn leaves, and the tenderness is palpable, even as she calls to his attention the leaves that “are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families.” There is no sugarcoating here, and Henry is not miraculously reunited with his wife and children; however, the conclusion, as Henry celebrated his new freedom, is moving and satisfying.
Lempke, 2007
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.
Threadgill, 2007
Library Uses
This would be a great storytime selection for any grade level for African American history month. It would be a good demonstration to have a box or crate for students to sit in to get an idea of how cramped it would have been.
References
Lempke, S. D. (2007). Henry's freedom box. Horn Book Magazine, 83(2), 186-187.
Levine, E., & Nelson, K. (2007). Henry's freedom box. New York: Scholastic Press.
Threadgill, C. (2007). Henry's freedom box. School Library Journal, 53(5), 176.
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