A little Black boy stares directly at you with such intense resolve, it's hard to not pick up this beautiful book. The enigmatic front cover of Henry's Freedom Box is so arresting, it compels you to read on—unravel Henry's thoughts—and hear his incredible true story of escape from slavery in mid-1800s Virginia.
Henry was a slave boy from the South. Initially, he worked on his ‘good’ master's plantation but was later transferred to a tobacco factory where conditions were much harsher. Years later, after his wife Nancy and children were suddenly sold, distraught Henry hatched an ingenious plan to escape to freedom, travelling the arduous 27 hours to Philadelphia, in 1849.
Using two historical accounts, The Underground Railroad (1872) by William Still and Henry's autobiography Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown (1851), Levine faithfully retells Henry's incredible story including wonderful biographical details, such as the vitriol he used to burn his hand as part of his escape plan.
Henry's own account is more harrowing than Levine's (see excerpts) but she has simplified the sensitive events brilliantly, making his story perfectly palatable for KS2 readers, without losing any of the gravitas or emotional pull.
That said, a little artistic licence may have been used. For example, Levine's version states that Henry's wife and children were sold because Nancy's master was experiencing financial hardship while Henry's account seems to paint a darker picture of him as simply opportunistic, callous and greedy, and other sources back this up. Considering potential unconscious white bias even in the most well-researched work is important, particularly when investigating the transatlantic slave trade. At KS2, children could be introduced to the idea that knowledge of historical events comes from a range of sources, and that Levine's version is not the only account.
Kadir Nelson's exquisite illustrations perfectly blend with the text. The larger-than-life images provide a real sense of drama and immediacy on every page—it feels like the characters are in the same room as you, intensifying your empathy. Henry grows from boy to man before your very eyes, and halfway through his adult face literally fills a whole double-page spread, matching his level of dread while increasing the tension for the reader.
The space between the text and images leaves scope for inference and interpretation, encouraging critical thinking. Potential questions that go beyond the text could include: How do you feel looking at this front cover? Who do you think this little boy might be? What imagery is used in the text and illustrations? Why do you think Henry's mum shows him the leaves blowing in the wind? Do you notice anything about the layout of the text/style of illustrations? Why do you think the book has been presented this way? What does the illustration of Henry and his mum tell you about their relationship? From looking at the illustrations, how does Henry change throughout the story? How does he change when he meets Nancy? How do you feel looking at this illustration (scene of Henry's family being carted off)? Does anything surprise you in this scene? Is there anything you dislike about it? How does Henry's family feel as he's being taken away to work at the tobacco factory? How do you know? Why do you think all the boys are looking downwards in the tobacco factory? What is the effect of this illustration on you? Why do you think Kadir Nelson has put a close-up of Henry's face here? How is Henry feeling at this point in the story? Why do you think Henry does not look at his boss when asking for time off work? Looking at the images of Henry's journey, what do you think it was like travelling in that crate for 27 hours? What does the final image tell you about life in Philadelphia compared to Virginia?
Due to the subject matter, this picture book is suitable for upper KS2 and links well to maths, for example: converting imperial to metric units to work out 350 miles in kilometres. Children could also use a feet-centimetre conversion chart to calculate the dimensions of Henry's box/cuboid in centimetres, select column addition to add decimals and, finally, round the decimals to the nearest whole centimetre (see Notes for box dimensions). You might also use the concept of Henry's box to introduce nets of cuboids. An extra tricky challenge might be to calculate the volume of his box to get a sense of the amount of space.
In PSHE, the book promotes discussion around freedom, rights and perseverance and, in literacy as well as deeper comprehension, there are opportunities for diary/letter writing, creating timelines, and newspaper reports or posters celebrating Henry's escape. It's difficult to make links to the current KS2 history curriculum, although explaining that Henry toured England for 25 years after his famous escape, promoting his anti-slavery message, will help children realise that Black people lived in the UK during this era and played an active role in changing society's perceptions of slavery.
Leading with Henry's successes, before you share the book, is a good way to counteract the deficit model of Black slaves which I mention in my review of Freedom.
This magnificently crafted text is essential for all schools and homes. It demonstrates how picture books can be used powerfully with KS2 learners to enhance critical thinking and enable children to access difficult themes appropriately. Picture books are not just for young children—we can all learn important from them!
Notes for teachers
The Underground Railroad involved the secret methods by which Black slaves escaped the South to gain freedom in the north of America. It's estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 African Americans achieved freedom via this route. Henry's idea to mail himself to the north in a wooden crate is probably the most famous escape.
William Still was an abolitionist and the main facilitator of the Underground Railroad resistance movement. He, along with other activists like Harriet Tubman, helped many people to escape slavery.
Henry's freedom box measured 3' long x 2' 8" deep x 2' wide. The journey from Richmond Virginia to Philadelphia Pennsylvania was 350 miles. (Round the box's dimensions to 3' x 3' x 2' to aid maths problem-solving.)
Henry Brown fled to the north of England in 1850 where he lived for 25 years and is believed to have remarried. He worked successfully as a magician, singer and actor, telling his escape story and spreading an anti-slavery message.
Useful links
Guide for teachers and parents
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Genre
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Non-fiction: biography
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Child-led interests
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N/A
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Age group (EYFS, KS1, KS2)
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KS2 (Y5/6)
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Curriculum links (EYFS/NC)
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English: (Y5/6) Reading comprehension − continue to read and discuss an
increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference
books or textbooks; increasing familiarity with a wide range of books
including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction
from our literary heritage and books from other cultures and traditions; making
comparisons within and across books; drawing inferences such as inferring
characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying
inferences with evidence; identifying how language, structure and
presentation contribute to meaning; retrieve record and present information
from non-fiction; Maths: Measurement (Y5) − solve addition and
subtraction multi-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and
methods to use and why; solve problems
involving number up to 3 decimal places; understand and use approximate equivalences
between metric units and common imperial units such as inches, pounds and
pints; use all four operations to solve problems involving measure [for
example, length, mass, volume, money] using decimal notation; Geometry
− identify 3D shapes, including cubes and other cuboids, from 2D
representations (Y6) Number − solve addition and subtraction multi-step
problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why;
use estimation to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context
of a problem, an appropriate degree of accuracy; solve problems
involving the calculation and conversion of units of measure, using decimal
notation up to 3 decimal places where appropriate; Measurement: convert
between miles and kilometres; calculate, estimate and compare volume of cubes
and cuboids using standard units, including cubic centimetres (cm³) and cubic
metres (m³), and extending to other units [for example, mm³ and km³]; Geometry
− recognise, describe and build simple 3-D shapes, including making nets
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Suitability
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whole-class teaching;
school/class library and home-reader
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General features
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third person; past tense;
chronological order; time connectives; historical details; illustrations add
meaning; strong theme
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All the Black children's books that I review are checked against my Jericho Benchmark.
A little Black boy stares directly at you with such intense resolve, it's hard to not pick up this beautiful book. The enigmatic front cover of Henry's Freedom Box is so arresting, it compels you to read on—unravel Henry's thoughts—and hear his incredible true story of escape from slavery in mid-1800s Virginia. 
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