Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine has beautiful illustrations. Kadir Nelson is quite a talented artist. I hope to see this book nominated for the 2008 Caldecott Medal.
Summary: A fictionalized account of how in 1849 a Virginia slave, Henry "Box" Brown, escapes to freedom by shipping himself in a wooden crate from Richmond to Philadelphia.
You can check out more of Kadir's artwork at www.kadirnelson.com. I liked this quote from his website: Nelson’s works are instantly recognizable by the emotion and strength of his varied subject matter. “My work is all about healing and giving people a sense of hope and nobility. I want to show the strength and integrity of the human being and the human spirit.”
Why I like this book: I am taking a class of valuing diversity and I have learned how important it is for books to accurately reflect the culture about which it speaks. We have read articles that suggest that only people of the culture can write about the culture accurately. We have debated that viewpoint. I understand that sometimes it takes a person from a culture to accurately reflect a mindset, but I also do not underestimate the ability of an experienced author to interview and research those in a culture in order to accurately represent them.
Kadir Nelson's illustrations appear wonderfully respectful of this time period and seem to capture the emotions of Henry as his life progresses.
2 comments:
Penney, My wife teaches Kindergarten so a blog about books including children's books is a great resource.
-John Mitchell
This sounds like a wonderful book. I could use it when I teach about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. This is a different point of view on freedom.
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