Skip to main content

Henry’s Freedom Box

Henry’s Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Genre: Non-Fiction
Award: Coretta Scott Kind Award, The Caldecott Medal 
Grade: 2nd grade and up


Henry is a little boy who is a slave and who does not have a birthday or age. When he was young his master got ill and he got separated from his family. He worked in his new master’s factory. Henry grew up in the factory and years has passed and he met his wife Nancy. His family grew and grew and then he got separated from his wife and children for they got sold. Henry got depressed and was never happy till one-day henry decided to get away by pouring vitriol in his hands. He decided to send himself in a box to a place where he is free! The journey inside the box was hectic but he made it and now his is in Philadelphia. It ended with him now having a birthday which is his first day of freedom.


I really like this book for it is not overwhelming and it is a great story. It gives you the insight of what slaves have to go through and how the families are separated. I wish I know what happened to his family or whether they are united or not. This is a really heartfelt story because people are willing to help him and he sacrificed a lot just to go to the land of the free. The illustrator Kadir Nelson is really amazing with his art work for it looks realistic and it is mixed with drawing or sketches. The reader can feel and see the expression of the boy’s face through his artwork. I would definitely read this in my class for it will give the students a different perspective of life back in the days and be grateful for what they have.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rapunzel

Rapunzel Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Illustrator: Carol Heyer Genre: Traditional Literature Ages or Grade: 2 nd to 5 th grade Rapunzel is a story well-known story about a couple who are greedy that the witch took their child in exchange of their wrongdoings. It all started when the wife wanted some of the fruits from the backyard of their neighbors. She craved it so much and wanted it that his husband sneaked in and get some until the owner found out that he had been stealing. In exchange for him stealing, the witch wanted their child. She locked up Rapunzel in a high tower till a prince found out about the tower and Rapunzel. They both fell in love and the witch found out. The witch then cut off her hair and locked her up. He fell and blinded himself but years passed and they found each other again and live happily ever after. This is a long story for children to read aloud so I will probably start to read half of it in the morning and then read the en...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night Author: Joyce Sidman Illustrator: Rick Allen Genre: Poetry Ages or Grade: 3 rd through 5 th grade This book consists of poems about animals especially night animals. It consists of a lot of sounding words and informative concrete detailed words. This poem book talks about each night creatures and tells a story of what they do at night. This is a good poem book to keep in my future classroom because each poem makes you imagine and see it vividly in your mind by the way the words are put together. This is also informative for students and will be helpful for classification or science class because it explains weather, animals, and classifications. Not only it is a poem book it is also informative and has a lot of fun facts for students to read on the side of every page.
Post a Comment
Read more

Red Sings from Treetops a year in color

Red Sings from Treetops a year in colors Author: Joyce Sidman Illustrator: Pamela Zagarenski Genre: Poetry Ages or Grade: 3 rd – 5 th grade This book makes colors alive like human beings. It describes the colors having qualities and bringing them into life. This poem book goes over the four seasons which is spring, fall, winter, and summer. Red Sings from Treetops illustrations are really well illustrated because it gives the feeling of actually being in that particular season. This book is great to read to my students because they will imagine and view colors as persons and each colors have amazing unique qualities. My students can also be more aware and appreciative of colors all around us. This poem book is more for a 3 rd through 5 th grade students due to the length of the sentences and understanding. Since the illustrations looks like paper art, I will have the students do their piece of art that is based on their favorite seasons.
Post a Comment
Read more