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Henry's Freedom Box
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
155 posts | 88 read | 1 reading | 9 to read
A stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist. Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.
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quote
aw449820
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine


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

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

blurb
aw449820
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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.

review
aw449820
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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.

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ss291920
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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

blurb
ss291920
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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.

review
ss291920
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
Pickpick

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.

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mlowe386221
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

“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.

blurb
mlowe386221
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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

review
mlowe386221
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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.

quote
chloecosmo
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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

review
chloecosmo
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
Pickpick

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

blurb
chloecosmo
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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

quote
katemccord
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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

blurb
katemccord
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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

review
katemccord
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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!

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Kaylee.Phillips2
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

“Free Bird! Happy Bird!“

blurb
Kaylee.Phillips2
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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.

review
Kaylee.Phillips2
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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.

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SophieA
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

Quote:
“But not the kind they imagine.“

blurb
SophieA
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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

review
SophieA
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
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Pickpick

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.

review
channingfortney
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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.

review
channingfortney
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
Pickpick

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.

blurb
loganhiller
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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.

loganhiller Caldecott Award Winner 2y
1 like1 comment
review
erinhannahs
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
Pickpick

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....

quote
Mboyd28
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

Henry Brown wasn't sure how old he was.

blurb
Mboyd28
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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.

review
Mboyd28
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
Pickpick

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.

review
sarahyurco
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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

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ztorres
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
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Pickpick

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

ztorres This book is great for D.R., teachers can have students be different characters and reenact the important events of Henry‘s life. The teacher can also use props and costumes to make the story come to life. This will allow students to remember the story and the main events of the story. This story includes UDL‘s strategy 3.1 “activate or supply background knowledge” 3.2 “ highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships.” 4y
ztorres ESOL strategies: Provide contextual support through audiovisuals, models, demonstrations, realia, body language, and facial expressions. Have students use timelines to arrange and sequence important facts and information. 4y
ztorres Teacher resource: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/henrys-freedom...
It's an excellent tool to use for the lesson. It gives you lesson plan and content area connections.
4y
3 likes3 comments
review
Viviannef
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
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Pickpick

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

Viviannef UDL principle 3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge. ESOL strategy 6 Continually monitor students‘ comprehension. This book would work great as an SR as the teacher could ask students to study/make connections between the illustrations and the text. 4y
Viviannef The resource I have provided includes pre-reading activities to increase background knowledge, discussion questions, and great extension activities. https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/lesson-plans/migrated-featured-f... 4y
RamzieM This seems like such a good job!! I love the resource that you chose it will definitely come in handy in our future classrooms. 4y
Emma_Barcena I‘ve been seeing this book around and I definitely want to purchase it! This text would be a great SR, I could even see this is as a RA! I like the resource you provided, it makes me more excited to read and share this book with students! Thank you for a great post :) 4y
DrSpalding Scholastic being the largest publisher of children‘s books in the world, you have made an excellent resource selection. This book is usually considered a biography however I am sure the author took some creative liberty as well. It‘s phenomenal to think that he mailed himself to freedom. Use this in your social studies class! 4y
5 likes5 comments
review
ashleyshugars
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
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Pickpick

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

ashleyshugars This touching story would be a wonderful PR as students can talk about the realism here. Try using this resource for a few activities, questions for reading, and important vocabulary students can do together. https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/lesson-plans/migrated-featured-f... This would support UDL strategy 8.3 and ESOL strategy 32. (edited) 4y
Viviannef Hi Ashley! I also made a post about this book! It‘s such an incredible book that should be read in the classroom. This HF B book is great to use in a social studies lesson as well to teach children about the Underground Railroad and slavery. Thank you for your resource, it has amazing ideas and is super useful! Great job 👍🏽 4y
Emma_Barcena Woah! I definitely want to add this to my classroom library! This is a great example of a HF! I actually would love to read this book and integrate this into a PR! Great post :) 4y
DrSpalding Henry was a real person! What genre do you think this is now? This would be an excellent book to use during a civil rights social studies unit. 4y
3 likes4 comments
review
Nkaufmann
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine
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Pickpick

#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).

Nkaufmann In doing so, this allows the students to tell the story of this book in a creative manner using visual aids. This will help them to better understand the story by breaking it up into pieces.

The UDL principle 1.1 regarding offering ways of customizing the display of information and the EL principle 17 regarding providing contextual support through audio, visuals, models, demonstrations, realia, body language and facial expressions, can be met
4y
Nkaufmann by this picture book. Using visual aids can be very helpful because it can help not just ELLs but all students get a better idea of what the story is trying to say and it is also more engaging than just having the students write about the story.

Resource: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/henrys-freedom...
4y
DrSpalding Henry was a real person. Now what do you think the genre should be? This is a phenomenal story. Your resource is excellent and provides many different activities for this amazing, award-winning book. Add this book to your classroom library. 4y
1 like3 comments
review
juliap99
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
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Pickpick

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...

juliap99 This book is a Caldecott award winning book for its illustrations. 5y
DrSpalding This is a true story! This actually happened which means it is not historical fiction. What genre do you believe it is now? Be sure to expand and incorporate all required elements of the rubric. 5y
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review
carolinem
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
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Pickpick

“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

carolinem This is a wonderful resource guide by Scholastic for teachers to guide their students with reading this story. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/henr 5y
carolinem UDL principle 9.3 which is develop self assessment and reflection which is useful for this book since the level is for older students.
ESOL strategy 44 is focus on thinking skills like predicting, classification, etc which can be used with this book!
5y
ShardaeP Your description of this book is great. I definitely want to read this book to find out how Henry reaches freedom. 5y
DrSpalding Good for you! This is a biography. It is hard to believe but this actually happened! Scholastic is an excellent resource you should continue to use in future lesson planning. 5y
3 likes4 comments
review
peytonfleming
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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.“

blurb
Niaaelizz
Henry's Freedom Box | Ellen Levine

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

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Niaaelizz
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

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

review
Niaaelizz
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

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.

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mollywimmers1
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

“welcome to Philadelphia“

blurb
mollywimmers1
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
post image

my favorite part was when the two men flipped the box over to sit on it and the illustration was funny.

review
mollywimmers1
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine
Pickpick

I loved this book, such a good story of history. I really liked the illustrationsand the way the story flowed

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Cd053917
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

“But something‘s missing..”

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Cd053917
Henrys Freedom Box | Ellen & Kadir Nelson Levine

This book is a wonderful story about a young slave who undergoes many hardships! I will definitely incorporate this into my classroom!