# Is "Henry's Freedom Box" by Ellen Levine (illus. Kadir Nelson) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine (illus. Kadir Nelson) (Scholastic Press, 2007) is identified by: First printing has a Scholastic number line counting down to 1; Scholastic Press imprint; Kadir Nelson oil illustrations; true-first jacket bears NO Caldecott Honor or Coretta Scott King seal, as those were awarded in 2008. The US Scholastic Press edition of 2007 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has a Scholastic number line counting down to 1
- Scholastic Press imprint
- Kadir Nelson oil illustrations; true-first jacket bears NO Caldecott Honor or Coretta Scott King seal, as those were awarded in 2008
- Publisher imprint reads Scholastic Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ellen Levine (illus. Kadir Nelson) |
| Publisher | Scholastic Press |
| Year | 2007 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | First printing has a Scholastic number line counting down to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing has a Scholastic number line counting down to 1; Scholastic Press imprint; Kadir Nelson oil illustrations; true-first jacket bears NO Caldecott Honor or Coretta Scott King seal, as those were awarded in 2008.

## Is this the true first?
The US Scholastic Press edition of 2007 is the true first. It was named a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book and received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, so the true-first jacket predates the seals.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings add the Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King seals; book-club editions differ.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Henry's Freedom Box* by Ellen Levine (illus. Kadir Nelson) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/henrys-freedom-box
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.