Henry's Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Genre: Non-Fiction

Grade: K-3

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Henry is a slave who doesn't know how old he is. There is no records kept of slaves' birthdays. He dreams about freedom all the time. The reality of freedom drifts farther away as he is pulled away from his family and starts to work in a warehouse. He eventually grows up and gets married but is again devastated when his family is sold in the slave market. One day he lifts a crate at the warehouse and has an idea. He will mail himself to the North and he finally wakes up to a birthday which is his freedom. 

The illustrations in this are very realistic giving the book a vibe that this is not a fairytale or a fiction book. It portrays his emotions and the color scheme helps set the mood of the story as well.

I can use this in my class to help teach the children about slavery. It shows what its like to be a slave and portrays the feelings a slave would have.