Book Talk: Henry's Freedom Box (4-21-13)

Levine, E., & Nelson, K. (2007). Henry's freedom box. New York: Scholastic Press.

What if the only life you knew was of slavery and pain? 

What if your whole family could be taken away from you in one quick sale?

Henry Brown is a slave in Virginia in 1849 that hopes to one day find an escape from this cruel world of slavery. He finally finds happiness when he meets the love of his life and makes a family with her. The days are long and the nights are longer, never knowing where he or his family will end up. When tragedy strikes Henry’s life, he will stop at almost nothing to be free, even if it means mailing himself in a box across the country. The only thing between him and freedom is a wooden crate and the miles from Richmond to Philadelphia. Henry Brown is risking everything for what he knows to be right.
Will he make it to his destination?
Will he be caught in his journey?
Based on an account from the Underground Railroad, read this heartbreaking and inspiring story to find out just how far someone will go for freedom. 

Book Talk: Runaround (4-13-13)

 

Hemphill, H. (2007). Runaround. Asheville, N.C: Front Street. 

Have you even been in love? If not, would you like to be? You will fall in love with the eleven-year-old main character, Sassy, who is ready for love herself. Except there is a problem… she’s not sure how to get a boy to like her! Read along and laugh, cry, and be thoroughly embarrassed with Sassy as she tries her best to find the kind of love she reads about (secretly) in her favorite “Love Confessions” magazines. Without a mother to ask her questions to, Sassy enlists the help of those around her. Ms. Dallas, the baby-sitter, Lula her older sister, and her father have their own (and very different) ways of teaching Sassy about love, but nothing prepares her for the whirlwind that is Boon Chisholm. With his older-than-her charms, reputation around town, and flirty demeanor, she’s sure to find what she’s looking for. Or won’t she? Although this novel is set in the 1960’s, in the heart of Kentucky, nothing about love and life has changed. Anybody who reads this is sure to relate to the loveable, yet tomboyish Sassy, who is on her quest for love. Sassy finally gets the nerve to tell Boon how she feels…

“Finally, she drew a heart on clean paper and wrote in a clear, solid hand. ST + BC Forever. Do you feel the same?”

Will Sassy find true love?

Read Helen Hemphill’s Runaround to find out the answer, along with discovering  all of the bumps in the road of finding your first love, growing up, and discovering what all the fuss is about.