Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

This is the true story of Henry, who dreams of a world where his life belongs to him. But when his family is sold to another slave owner, he risks everything. With the strength and conviction of the best kind of hero, Henry makes a harrowing journey in a wooden crate--and mails himself to freedom.
Kadir Nelson's luminous paintings bring this story alive for children, helping them to see and imagine what it was like to fit in that box and bump along to another place--and to anticipate freedom.

For readers 8-12.

Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells

India Moody lives in northern Virginia with her family. They are caught in the whirlwind and chaos of the Civil War. India, at 14, has intense questions about the war: why is it happening, is it about slavery, why do some neighbors fight for the North while others don uniforms for the South? Underneath it all is the unspoken question: what is war really like and why do people pursue it, often to hopeless ends?
Wells uses the probing of India as she navigates between her parents, the oncoming Union troops, freed slaves, and ravaged neighbors to ask these important questions which are contemporary in the age of Iraq and Afghanistan. She experiences the horrors of a battlefield while she presses to find her father who is in charge of ambulances and care of the wounded in his Rebel regiment.
Although the story of Civil War chaos and struggle has been told many times, this book offers a unique opportunity to readers, their parents and teachers to look at the issues it raises and come to their own conclusions.

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Kadir Nelson have created a deeply moving and respectful portrayal of Harriet Tubman as both a slave and a free woman. Interspersed with the story of her decision to leave her husband and family and escape to freedom are the words she hears from God, spurring her on and inspiring her to overcome her fear and the wiles of the slave catchers on her trail.
Thus, the book is not only a physical journey from Maryland to Pennsylvania and then into the South for nine trips to bring relatives out of slavery. It is also Tubman's spiritual journey and a testament to her resiliency in the face of violence, terror and greed.
The large format of the book enables the large, powerful images to stand out and to beckon the reader inside the story; with help from adults, many ages of children and teens can find inspiration and excitement in this new tale of the Underground Railroad.
This book received both a Caldecott honor designation and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator award from the American Library Association at recent ceremonies.