Picture Book Review: Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford

Image: Candlewick Press

Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Michele Wood. unpgd. Candlewick Press, April, 2020. 97800763691561. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Instead of the usual title page one would expect when opening this picture book biography in verse, one finds an enigmatic number six made out of the words, "How Many Sides to a Box?" with the title, "Geometry." Ah, a concrete poem! All of the poems save this one are six lines long, representative of the six sides of the box Henry Brown folded himself into in order to escape enslavement. Ms. Boston Weatherford used Henry Brown's own autobiography to mine material for her poems, which are told in Henry's voice and paint a devastating picture of the horror and injustice of slavery and the desperation which can propel a human to risk everything for freedom. 

Henry Brown was born into slavery in 1815. His family remained intact on the same plantation for the first fifteen years of his life, when his master died. Then, he and his family were "flung apart as if dandelion puffs." He lands in a tobacco factory in Richmond. He hears about Nat Turner's Rebellion. He understands the laws that keep Black people in bondage and he fears the overseers, who seem to be getting nastier and nastier. He falls in love with Nancy and the two receive permission to "jump broom" and a promise that Nancy would not be sold. Not only was this promise broken, but each master was crueler than the last. Once Nancy and his children were sold away, Henry, feeling there that there was nothing more to lose, plans his escape. An escape that would not be possible without aid from a sympathetic shoe maker with abolitionist friends in Philadelphia. 

The poems, spare and evocative provide historical context as well as information about Henry Brown's life. The textured mixed media paintings invite the eye to linger over the stylized art, quilt motifs and occasional symbolism. The palette is decidedly rich in color and utterly radiant. Back matter includes a time line, bibliography, and illustrator and author notes. The pages are thick and the book has heft. 

Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom is a first-purchase! I look forward to rereading it and I am thrilled to be able to add this to my sixth grade picture book biography unit. Verse biographies are relatively rare and a bit on the difficult side. I have several on the cart, including Ms. Weatherford's Schomberg:The Man Who Built a Library. We also have Voice of Freedom; Gordon Parks: and The Legendary Miss Lena Horn. One is never too old for picture books in general, but picture book biographies give even older students a glimpse into the lives of people they may never have heard of. This year, I asked my seventh graders to write a Nonfiction reading reflection. Most students stated they preferred fiction to nonfiction reading, but a significant number fondly recalled a picture book biography from their sixth grade year. This made my librarian heart proud.