Welcome to Litsy!

"I am not a slave anymore. I am free."

This story is a powerful way to teach about slavery, freedom, and courage. Students can create a timeline of the Underground Railroad or write letters imagining what life was like for Henry Brown.

This book tells the remarkable story of Henry "Box" Brown, an enslaved man who escaped to freedom by mailing himself in a wooden crate. His journey to freedom is inspiring and highlights the dangers of slavery.

Another powerful quote from "Henry's Freedom Box" is:

“I will not be a slave. I will be free.”

I would use this book for introducing children to the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad. Children can relate to Henry and be inspired by his ambition and courage.

Historical Fiction
Published 2007
This book is about the true story of Henry Brown, a man who escaped from slavery. It provides an accurate depiction of the realities of slavery and the risks faced by those seeking freedom. The story encourages critical thinking about freedom and justice, making it a valuable tool for classroom discussions and provides a foundation for understanding the ongoing struggles for civil rights.

“Henry twisted tobacco leaves. His heart twisted in his chest.”

You could use this book to help students understand the significance of slavery. This could be an introduction read aloud to a unit. This could be paired with many writing prompts.

Week 9: Historical Fiction! Super sad story about a slave. The illustrations bring many emotions. This book could be used to help student understand what slavery was like in the past. Published 2017.

“Henry felt like a bird trapped in a cage. He wriggled and turned, but he could not get free.“ This is such a great quote that represented the way he felt being a slave.

I would use this book in my classroom to teach about slavery and maybe make predictions about how he would become free.

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine was published in 2007 and is a historical fiction book. This book is a true story about Henry being a slave and being forced to do work without pay. He ended up actually mailing himself to freedom in a box. I love this book.

“I want to be free, no matter what it takes.“

Based on a true story, Henry Brown escapes slavery by mailing himself to freedom in a box.

Discuss themes of freedom and resilience. Explore the history of slavery and liberty.

“At last Henry had a birthday - March 30, 1849, his first day of freedom!“

This is a great book to help you teach children about American History! Would also be a great read during Black History Month!

This is a great book about a little boy Henry in 1849 and how he gained his freedom. This true story really brings Henry's story to life and the challenges he had to face. I like that slavery also wasn't directly mentioned but you can infer so from the illustrations. Many valuable lessons can come out of reading this book!

“Free Bird! Happy Bird!“

This is a great opportunity to bring a story with fun images but also a true story to the classroom! We have been talking about nonfiction vs. fiction this week and the students would enjoy hearing about henry, a real character who also went through hardship and emotions they can connect to or empathize with.

Henry's freedom box, By Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson. Published in 2007, received a Caldecott award in 2008. This story is a true story about the underground railroad. This picture book helps readers to understand the social studies and deeply rooted history of the characters, places, and events. There are some photos with big, zoomed in images, and others with words vertically that adds depth and importance to each page.

Quote:
“But not the kind they imagine.“

Blurb:
I would use this book to talk about slavery and what some slaves did to become free.

Review:
This book won a Caldecott medal in 2008. It is about a boy who is a slave and gets sold to a new owner. He meets a girl and has kids, but then the wife and kids get sold and Henry does not know what to do. He decides to mail himself to a place where he can be free and live his life.

This is a children's book about a young boy who is enslaved how is fight to escape and become free. It also is a story about the underground railroad. Henry fights for his freedom for a very long time, but is never able to get it. Until, one day he decides he is going to mail himself to freedom. The story follows Henry on his hard journey to freedom all while hiding in a small wooden box with little to no airways. This is a very moving book.

This is a story about a young boy who is enslaved and is fighting for his freedom. He decided the only way that he could get his freedom is if he mailed himself to America. Despite a very rough journey, he made it and was even able to celebrate his birthday. This book won the Caldecott Award. I highly recommend.

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen and Kadir Nelson Levine is a children's book about “the Underground Railroad's most famous runaway slaves“ and Henry's great idea to help these enslaved escape in a creative way.

Henry's Freedom Box was written by Ellen Levine. This story is about a young boy named Henry who escapes to freedom through the underground railroad. Henry ships himself in a box in order to be free....

Henry Brown wasn't sure how old he was.

This would be a great story to use when discussing slavery, abolition, and the Underground Railroad. The emotions in this story are powerful and would give students an idea of how things used to be and even how injustice is still a problem today.

A touching, true story about Henry Brown and how he mailed himself to freedom. The story and illustrations draws the reader in and brings out the emotions of how heartbreaking Henry's story is. The author also gives information on Henry and what he did once he gained his freedom in the North.

Published: 2007
This is written based on the true story of an enslaved man who mailed himself to freedom after his family was split up. I actually read this book with 3rd graders and they all really liked the story and were able learn more about the Underground Railroad through it.
Awards: Caldecott Honor in 2008, American Library Association Notable Children's Book in 2008, National Council for Social Studies Notable Social Studies Book in 2008

This B., Caldecott Medal Award book, Henry's Freedom Box, is excellent to share with the students, because of its inspiring story. The book is about a man who was a slave and loses his family. Henry escapes slavery, by deciding to place himself on a shipping box to Philadelphia. Henry arrives in Philadelphia as a free man able to seek his family. This book encourages students to persevere in the midst of adversity.
#UCFLAE3414SP21

Henry‘s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson is a powerful HF B book for children. This Caldecott Award-winning book can also be used in a social studies lesson as it contains the true story of Henry and his journey in the underground railroad. The book follows Henry through his experiences in hopes to reach freedom. What does Henry‘s box have to do with his journey? You‘re going to have to read to find out. #ucflae3414su20

Henry‘s Freedom Box, is a wonderful HF book written by Ellen Levine, and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. This beautiful picture book is the winner of the Caldecott Medal. This real story will bring a tear to your eye as you listen to how slavery drove Henry to mail himself in a crate to freedom! Will it pay off for Henry, or will he continue a life of slavery forever? Read to find out! #ucflae3414su20

#ucflae3414su20
Henry‘s Freedom Box is a Caldecott award-winning book about a man named Henry who grew up as a slave. Henry meets a woman who is also a slave named Nancy who he starts a family with. But one day, he is given the news that his family was sold at the slave market. What will Henry do next? Read this book to find out.

The genre is HF. This book would be best told as a story traditionally or digitally (S).

This HF book is about Henry, a slave, that is longing for freedom wants to mail himself to freedom. It‘s great for IR to have students figure out how they can connect this book to prior knowledge ( EL #4) (UDL 3.1). Students can activate their background knowledge of the Underground Railroad and slavery by doing the activities linked here . https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/henrys-freedom...

“Henry‘s Freedom Box” written by Ellen Levine and illustrated Kadir Nelson is an incredible B RA about Henry who has no idea how old he is because no one kept record of the slaves birthdays. Henry gets old and marries. He has children and a situation let him to freedom when that became his new birthday. This book won Jane Addams Peace Award and Coretta Scott King Award. #UCFLAE3414SP20

Review: Henrys Freedom Box, by Ellen Levine, 2007, is a Caldecott Honor winner about the true story of a mans journey to freedom. It has beautiful illustrations and portrays the story very well.
Blurb: I would use this story in my class to talk about slavery. It's a nonfiction tale so its a good resource to use.
Quote: “Henry Brown wasn‘t sure how old he was. Henry was a slave. And slaves weren‘t allowed to know their birthdays.“

This book is a very good display for young children on slavery and I would use in my classroom definitely!

“Some slaves were freed by their owners. Henry‘s heart beat fast. Maybe the master would free him.”

This book is a great take on slavery as it is kid friendly and has a great approach to introducing slavery: the idea that Henry ships himself off to freedom can be a less brutal approach on the reality of how things were for slaves. The book still provides a lot of important aspects/facts for children to know about.