Henry's freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Henry is a slave. He works hard for his master, marries another slave named Nancy, has children, and then loses his entire family when his master sells them. That's when Henry decides that he will mail himself to freedom. With the help of his friend James and Dr. Smith, a white man who thinks slavery is wrong, he packages himself in a large wooden box and arrives in Philadelphia on March 30, 1849, which Henry decides to claim as his birthday. This is a true story and a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book.

Genre: Picture Book-Historical Fiction
Levine, E. (2007). Henry's freedom box: A true story from the Underground Railroad. New York: Scholastic.

The Underground Railroad: An Interactive History Adventure by Allison Lassieur

In this unique interactive history text readers can choose to experience what it's like to be a runaway slave, a slave catcher, or a abolitionist on the Underground Railroad. All the facts are presented to help readers make a decision as they might have in the 1850s. Third graders and up will learn firsthand as they struggle with whether they should run for freedom or wait to be sold. Each story arc concludes with the end of the Underground Railroad and a timeline of events and a brief bibliography along with suggestions for further reading.

Genre: Non-Fiction

Lassieur, A. (2008). The underground railroad:An interactive history adventure. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.