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Freedom Song: The Story Of Henry "Box" Brown (2012)

by Sally M. Walker(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

006058310X (ISBN13: 9780060583101)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

HarperCollins

review 1: Freedom Song: The Story of Henry "Box" Brown is the story of a young boy born to parents who were slaves. Henry Brown worked alongside his parents in the cotton fields. He had a love for music and was said to always be singing. The music seemed to help him get through the difficulties of being a child with slave parents. As Henry grew older he moved and began work in a tobacco factory where he met another slave named Nancy. Music remained an important aspect of Henry's life after he got married and had children. Henry Brown decided to escape slavery after his family was sold to a plantation owner far away. The story talks about the difficulties of Henry's escape, but through the help of friends he finally made it North where he began to live freely. This book would be exce... morellent when integrating social studies with literacy. The vocabulary in this book is quite extensive, and depending on the age level of the reader, they may not know some of the terms related to slavery. When reading this story, one can teach context clues in order for the class to determine vocabulary words unknown.
review 2: In the author's note at the end of this lovely middle grade picture book Sally Walker tell of how she first learned the real life story of Henry "Box" Brown's 1849 escape from slavery. She was a choir member and music lover, and was fascinated to later learn that Henry was a member of his church choir. She decided to tell his story with an emphasis on the power of music. Walker begins her tale with the joy and delight of a family welcoming a new baby.The story builds as Henry grows tall on Mama's cooking and smart on Papa's stories. The emphasis on family love, community strength, and the power of song to endure the blistering work and cruelty of slavery is what makes this book unforgettable. Henry sings work songs and play songs, and at night he sings sleep songs. His life is held together by songs of hope.This is a hard truth to read to young ones. But the fact that Henry survived and found a way to escape this grave injustice is a truth that children need to hear. This is more than a story of the horrors of slavery. A life that would make a man desperate enough to risk his life mailing himself in a box. It is also a story of the triumph of the human spirit expressed as music. less

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