Author: Ellen Levine
Title: Henry’s Freedom Box
Publisher: Scholastic Press Date: 2007
Title: Henry’s Freedom Box
Publisher: Scholastic Press Date: 2007
Age level: Elementary (3-4)
Summary:
This is a story of a slave named Henry who went through a lot of hardships in his life. First, he was sold away from his mother and his first master. He was lucky to be married to a girl that he loved, and had children, but then they were sold away from him. He leads a very unhappy life until he decides to try and escape by being mailed in a box to the North. He has some help from friends yet goes through a long, hard journey in the box. In the end, he winds up being free in Pennsylvania.
This is a story of a slave named Henry who went through a lot of hardships in his life. First, he was sold away from his mother and his first master. He was lucky to be married to a girl that he loved, and had children, but then they were sold away from him. He leads a very unhappy life until he decides to try and escape by being mailed in a box to the North. He has some help from friends yet goes through a long, hard journey in the box. In the end, he winds up being free in Pennsylvania.
Strengths:
This book shares a compelling story about a slave’s journey for freedom, and teaches kids a lot along the way. It has great illustrations to go with the story that really show the hardships that this man went through. The storyline is put in terms simple enough for young children to understand, yet still shows a deeper meaning. It would be a great book for children to read for fun, and learn something at the same time. It was very well done.
This book shares a compelling story about a slave’s journey for freedom, and teaches kids a lot along the way. It has great illustrations to go with the story that really show the hardships that this man went through. The storyline is put in terms simple enough for young children to understand, yet still shows a deeper meaning. It would be a great book for children to read for fun, and learn something at the same time. It was very well done.
Concerns:
The time span of the book passes very quickly, and may be a little hard to understand. However, that is my point of view, but children may read it differently. Sometimes the story jumps around, but it usually works. The other issue I had was that sometimes I found myself almost missing some of the text because it is always in a different spot and sometimes blends in with the background colors on the page.
The time span of the book passes very quickly, and may be a little hard to understand. However, that is my point of view, but children may read it differently. Sometimes the story jumps around, but it usually works. The other issue I had was that sometimes I found myself almost missing some of the text because it is always in a different spot and sometimes blends in with the background colors on the page.
Classroom use/Other comments:
This would be a great book to use in a social studies class, especially when studying American history and the slave era. There are multiple creative projects a teacher could come up with to have the students do afterwards (create own escape ideas, research underground railroad, diary entries, etc). It is definitely a great book for the classroom that will teach kids history without them even realizing.
This would be a great book to use in a social studies class, especially when studying American history and the slave era. There are multiple creative projects a teacher could come up with to have the students do afterwards (create own escape ideas, research underground railroad, diary entries, etc). It is definitely a great book for the classroom that will teach kids history without them even realizing.
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