Kirkus
*Starred

Nelson’s powerful portraits add a majestic element to Levine’s history-based tale of Henry “Box” Brown, a slave who escaped by having himself mailed to freedom in a crate. Depicted as a solemn boy with an arresting gaze on the cover, Henry displays riveting presence in every successive scene, as he grows from child to adult, marries and is impelled to make his escape after seeing his beloved wife and children sold to slaveowners. Related in measured, sonorous prose that makes a perfect match for the art, this is a story of pride and ingenuity that will leave readers profoundly moved, especially those who may have been tantalized by the entry on Brown in Virginia Hamilton’s Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom (1993). (afterword, reading list) (Picture book. 8-10)

BOOK LIST
*STAR*

Levine, Ellen. Henry’s Freedom Box. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. 2007. 40p. Scholastic, $16.99 (0-439-91848-0). Gr. 1–3. Although the cover shows a young boy staring intently at the reader, this book is really about Henry Brown as an adult and a staggering decision he made to achieve freedom. Henry, born a slave, hears from his mother that leaves blowing in the wind “are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families. When his master grows ill, Henry hopes that he will be freed; instead he is given to his master’s son, and his life becomes worse. Eventually, Henry marries and has children; then his family is sold. With nothing left to lose, he asks a white abolitionist to pack him in a crate so he can be mailed to freedom. The journey is fraught with danger as he travels by train and then steamboat, but 27 hours later, he reaches Philadelphia. A brief author’s note confirms the details of the story, but it’s the dramatic artwork that brings this emphatically to life. According to the flap copy, an antique lithograph of Brown inspired Nelson’s paintings, which use crosshatched pencil lines layered with watercolors and oil paints. The technique adds a certain look of age to the art and also gives the pictures the heft they need to visualize Brown’s life. Transcending technique is the humanity Nelson imbues in his characters, especially Brown and his mother––her dream of freedom deferred, his amazingly achieved. ––Ilene Cooper

Publisher's Weekly

Henry's Freedom Box
Ellen Levine, illus. by Kadir Nelson. Scholastic, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-439-77733-9

Levine (Freedom's Children) recounts the true story of Henry Brown, a slave who mailed himself to freedom. Thanks to Nelson's (Ellington Was Not a Street) penetrating portraits, readers will feel as if they can experience Henry's thoughts and feelings as he matures through unthinkable adversity. As a boy, separated from his mother, he goes to work in his new master's tobacco factory and eventually meets and marries another slave, with whom he has three children. In a heartwrenching scene depicted in a dramatically shaded pencil, watercolor and oil illustration, Henry watches as his family—suddenly sold in the slave market—disappears down the road. Henry then enlists the help of an abolitionist doctor and mails himself in a wooden crate "to a place where there are no slaves!" He travels by horse-drawn cart, steamboat and train before his box is delivered to the Philadelphia address of the doctor's friends on March 30, 1849. Alongside Henry's anguished thoughts en route, Nelson's clever cutaway images reveal the man in his cramped quarters (at times upside-down). A concluding note provides answers to questions that readers may wish had been integrated into the story line, such as where did Henry begin his journey? (Richmond, Va.); how long did it take? (27 hours). Readers never learn about Henry's life as a free man—or, perhaps unavoidably, whether he was ever reunited with his family. Still, these powerful illustrations will make readers feel as if they have gained insight into a resourceful man and his extraordinary story. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)

Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)
January 14, 2007, Sunday

NOW is a good time to assemble books to share with young readers during Black History Month in February. Here are two new picture books, each representing an outstanding marriage of text and art, and each illustrated by the same artist, Kadir Nelson, definitely a star on the rise in the children's book world.

"Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom" is a stunning book. Both text and art focus on Tubman's spirituality. The author, North Carolina poet and children's book writer Carole Boston Weatherford, focuses on Tubman's initial escape from slavery and, in a poetic text, describes her faith journey, as Tubman returns, 19 times in all, to lead others out of slavery.

Nelson's illustrations are often breathtaking, eloquent and stirring in their restraint. The perspective from which readers view Tubman suggests the biblical proportions of her journey. Many of the scenes occur at night, resulting in a dark palette. When the sun appears, Tubman's head is bathed in it, showing her close relationship with God. Nelson communicates Tubman's deep spirituality in close-ups that reveal a strong face and deep sadness.

Weatherford tells the story in three voices: a third-person narrator who relates the events in Tubman's life; the voice of Tubman herself; and the voice of God. Different font styles identify the different voices. Tubman engages in an ongoing dialogue with God seeking strength and guidance. Her prayerful entreaties echo the rhythms of powerful spirituals.

In an online interview at www.caroleweatherford.com/moses.htm, Weatherford writes, "I deliberately chose verse because I wanted Tubman's story to read like an African-American Exodus." The "interplay of the three voices ... mimics the call-and-response tradition of the black church." An author's note at the end of the book provides a short factual history of Harriet Tubman's life. (Watch for this book to capture awards at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting later this month.)

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Ellen Levine brings to life the true story of famous escaped slave, Henry "Box" Brown, in "Henry's Freedom Box." Born a slave in Virginia in 1815, Brown decided to mail himself to freedom after his wife and children were sold to a North Carolina plantation owner. With the help of his friend James and a white man, Dr. Smith, Brown packed himself into a wooden box and had himself shipped from Richmond, Va., to Philadelphia, where he became a free man.

Levine foreshadows the tragedy that will befall Henry as his mother tells him that leaves torn from the trees in autumn are like slave children "torn from their families."

Levine puts readers inside the box with Brown as he is "lifted up and thrown again. Upside down!" She helps them imagine what his journey must have felt like. "His face got hot. His eyes ached. He thought his head would burst." An author's note at the end provides some of the details about Brown's trip.

Nelson's illustrations, done in pencil, watercolor and oil, have a weathered feel to them. Particularly evocative are two illustrations accompanying some of the more dramatic moments of the text.

In one of them, Henry is shown grieving the loss of his beloved family. He sits with his back toward the reader, his head cupped in his hands. In the second illustration Henry lies upside-down in the box, his hand outstretched, as though reaching for freedom.

Henry's face, like Tubman's, shows great pain, determination and deep faith. Nelson's artwork is nothing short of luminous.

According to the copy on the back flap, Nelson's paintings for this book "were inspired by an antique lithograph of Henry 'Box' Brown, created by Samuel Rowse in 1850 as a fundraiser for the anti-slavery movement."

You can see pictures of the lithograph at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Resurrection_of_Henry_Box_Brown_at_Philadelphia and at http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/brownbox/menu.html.

A short article on the Scholastic Web site provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the book: http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8097.

Sarah Sullivan is the author of two picture books and holds a master's in fine arts in writing for children from Vermont College. She can be reached at sarahglenn1@verizon.net.

Copyright 2007 Charleston Newspapers

The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.

Scholastic Press, 40 pages, $16.99, mature 6 and older If children's books are a bellwether, then perhaps soon we can relegate Black History Month into the history books itself. When black history is a fully integrated part of the American story, we won't need a special month to make sure it gets its due.

A scan of the major children's book awards over the past two decades shows the lists liberally populated with fiction and nonfiction about black heroes, history and culture.

When the 2007 Caldecott Medals for outstanding illustrations were announced two weeks ago in Seattle, illustrator Kadir Nelson won a Caldecott Honor for "Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom," written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Hyperion/Jump at the Sun. The Caldecott committee said in a news release, "Nelson's dramatic renderings evoke the spiritual and physical journey of Harriet Tubman. Emotionally powerful images combined with poetically evocative text portray a strong woman who followed her star to an extraordinary destiny."

Nelson also won a 2007 Coretta Scott King Award for "Moses," announced at the same American Library Association event. A new book illustrated by Nelson and written by Ellen Levine tells another story from Harriet Tubman's time.
"Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story of the Underground Railroad" is a moving tale based on the true story of a slave named Henry Brown. A caution: It's an important story but a difficult one. The publisher lists the recommended ages as kindergarten through third grade. It might be too much for the younger end.

When the story opens, Henry is young, but he isn't sure how young because "slaves weren't allowed to know their birthdays." Henry's master is kind to him and his family, but it's certainly not the same as being free. In a poignant illustration, his mother takes him on her knee. "Do you see those leaves blowing in the wind? They are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families."

The master eventually gives Henry to his son, separating the boy from his family. Henry goes to work in the new master's tobacco plant, where the boss isn't so kind. Henry falls in love with a young woman named Nancy. They have different masters, but they're allowed to marry and live together. They acknowledge their luck, but at the same time there's an undercurrent of worry. They don't control their destiny; their owners do. A gorgeous picture echoes the illustration of Henry on his mother's knee. Nancy has their three children snuggled on her lap. Henry plays the banjo, eyes closed, a smile of contentment lighting his face. A bright quilt hangs on the wall. A fire's glow warms the room. Soon after, a friend rushes to tell Henry the awful news that his family has been sold at the slave market. He races to town just in time to see a wagon leave town carrying his family, their wrists bound with rope. Henry spends weeks in despair. He knows he won't see his family again.

But one day he's able to hear birdsong and he starts thinking about freedom. He notices a crate at the factory and inspiration strikes. Henry will mail himself north in a wooden box. From that point, the book takes an exciting, hopeful turn. Henry enlists the aid of friends to get a day off work, figure out whose address to put on the crate and load him onto a baggage car. Henry reached Philadelphia and, as an author's note says, became "one of the most famous runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad -- the man who mailed himself to freedom."

Levine's story is an excellent one to make slavery real for children. One quibble: She might have mentioned in the author's note that he had a second family as a free man. That could comfort children disconcerted by the loss of his first family. Nelson's illustrations are beautiful. Muted colors and crosshatched pencil lines give the feel of lithographs.