Historical Fiction Book Blog- Henry's Freedom Box

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story From the Underground Railroad

Written by Ellen Levine and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Scholastic Press, 2007

Historical Fiction

     Reading a historical fiction text is a great way to introduce historical events to your students. This book is a great way to teach your students about slavery and the Underground Railroad. The book tells the true story of a slave named Henry Brown. It tells the story of his life and his battle with slavery. Henry was traded to a different slave owner when he was only a little boy. Throughout his life, Henry faced many obstacles and hardships in his path to freedom. Go check this book out to see if Henry ever reaches his dream of being free.

     The illustrations in this book are absolutely breath-taking. The illustrator did such a great job of making the pictures look realistic. The pictures evoke a sense of emotion in the reader because they portray everything the story is trying to tell. The pictures include many muted colors and take place in many different settings from Henry's life. These pictures portray the characters emotions and the realness of the hardships that slavery put people through. The majority of the colors are brown, black, white, and dark green. 

     I would use this book for a history lesson for fifth grade students. I would read this book to the students to introduce them to the topic of slavery and the Underground Railroad. The students could do research on Henry Brown and present their findings to the class. I don't want to spoil to much of the story for you, but the students could create an escape route to help Henry reach the Underground Railroad. You could also do a cross-curricula activity and allow them to write about Henry Brown and his connection to slavery. The students could write as if they were in Henry's shoes and explain how they were going to try to find freedom.

    This book can be used in so many ways in your classroom. Ultimately, it is a great book for your students to read to teach them about slavery. As always, I encourage you to read this book to your students and keep it in your classroom library.