A review by panda_incognito
Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
4.0
This is a powerful retelling of the story of Henry Brown, who traveled to freedom inside a box. This was one of my favorite Underground Railroad stories when I was a child, because it was so concrete, vivid, and yet unimaginable. I spent a lot of time thinking about how hard it would be to survive, and whenever I wanted to complain about feeling uncomfortable or claustrophobic, I would remember that he literally packed himself into a box to get to freedom and stayed in it for days, even when inattentive and irresponsible workers turned it upside down.
This nonfiction picture book tells the story in short, effective poems, and it also covers significant parts of his life before and afterwards. One thing I didn't remember is that he had a family that he was separated from, and this book shows the trauma that he experienced from masters' false promises and his wrenching loss. This book provides a stark window into the context and institution of slavery, rather than just focusing on his escape, and also covers some of his abolitionist activities afterwards.
One thing that I especially like about this book is its emphasis on Brown's Christian faith. As this book shows, it was deeply important to him, a sustaining force in the midst of his trauma and suffering, and an anchor that he held onto with gratitude throughout his life. I really appreciate this, because many children's books gloss over people's faith commitments in an attempt to be neutral. Only, there really is no neutrality when it comes to beliefs, and erasing people's deepest commitments and underlying worldviews does nothing to honor their lives and legacies. I'm glad that this book repeatedly emphasizes the faith in God that was so central to Henry Brown's life.
This nonfiction picture book tells the story in short, effective poems, and it also covers significant parts of his life before and afterwards. One thing I didn't remember is that he had a family that he was separated from, and this book shows the trauma that he experienced from masters' false promises and his wrenching loss. This book provides a stark window into the context and institution of slavery, rather than just focusing on his escape, and also covers some of his abolitionist activities afterwards.
One thing that I especially like about this book is its emphasis on Brown's Christian faith. As this book shows, it was deeply important to him, a sustaining force in the midst of his trauma and suffering, and an anchor that he held onto with gratitude throughout his life. I really appreciate this, because many children's books gloss over people's faith commitments in an attempt to be neutral. Only, there really is no neutrality when it comes to beliefs, and erasing people's deepest commitments and underlying worldviews does nothing to honor their lives and legacies. I'm glad that this book repeatedly emphasizes the faith in God that was so central to Henry Brown's life.