Henry's Freedom Box

Levine, E., and Nelson, K. (2007). Henry's freedom box. New York: Scholastic Press.

This book is a Caldecott honor book from 2008.

Exposition: This is the story of a man named Henry Brown, who grows up a slave.

Conflict: Henry is unhappy as a slave and wants to be free.

Rising Action: He marries and starts a family, but his wife's owner needs money and has to sell her and their children.

Climax: Henry is devastated and knows he will never see his family again. Henry sees a crate and decides to mail himself to a place where slavery is illegal. A man named Dr. Smith helps Henry mail himself to Philadelphia, and Henry burns himself to have an excuse to miss work.

Falling Action: While in the box, Henry is thrown around and has to be still and silent.

Resolution: In the end, Henry arrived to freedom in Philadelphia.

This book is well illustrated. The pages are kind of dark, but they match the mood of the story. The expressions on the characters' faces are really excellent. The drawings are kept simple for the age group, but emotion is portrayed well.