Michele Wood

Henry Brown wrote that long before he came to be know as "Box," he "entered the world a slave." He was put to work as a child and passed down from one generation to the next -- as property. When he was an adult, his wife and children were sold away from him out of spite. Henry Brown watched as his family left, bound in chains, headed to the deeper South. What more could be taken from him? But then hope -- and help -- came in the from of the Underground...

Enslaved African Americans longed for freedom, and that longing took many forms including music. Drawing on biblical imagery, slave songs both expressed the sorrow of life in bondage and offered a rallying cry for the spirit. Like a Bird brings together text, music, and illustrations by Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator Michele Wood to convey the rich meaning behind thirteen of these powerful songs.

Twenty African-American celebrities, including singers, actors, comedians, and sport stars, describe their families' Christmas traditions and the Christmases that meant the most to them. Contributors include Aretha Franklen, Whitney Houston, Grant Hill, and Denzel Washington.

This moving, lyrical tale about the cost and fragility of freedom follows the life of a man who courageously shipped himself out of slavery.

What have I to fear? My master broke every promise to me. I lost my beloved wife and our dear children. All, sold South. Neither my time nor my body is mine. The breath of life is all I have to lose. And bondage is suffocating me. Henry Brown wrote that long before he came to be known as Box; he "entered the world a slave." He was put to work as a child and passed down from one generation to the next-as property. When he was an adult, his wife and...