The Big Box
Name of Book: The Big Box
Author: Toni and Slade Morrison
Illustrator: Giselle Potter
Publisher: Jump at the Sun Hyperion Books for Children
Audience: Ages 8 – up
Summary: Three children live inside a large box that is equipped with all that they need from swings to beds and an aquarium. The box has locks so that the children cannot go outside into the world. The adults in the story believe that the children need the strict boundaries of the box because they cannot handle freedom.
Literary elements at work in the story: The setting is a key factor in the story. The big box houses the three children and contains everything that they need in order to live. It symbolizes the boundaries that adults believe the main characters need. Three short clips within the story of the box explain why each child has been characterized as a troublemaker by adults in his/her life.
Perspective on gender/race/culture/economic ability: Although the three main characters and the adults in the illustrations are not all of the same race, the primary point of the story is the big box in which the children live.
Scripture: John 8:31-32;36, Romans 6:23, Acts 13:38-39
Theology: Those who are in the Word are true disciples and are set free by Christ.
God gives us the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ frees us once and for all and does what the Law of Moses could not.
Faith Talk Questions (Intended for use with high school youth group):
- What are does the big box in this story symbolize?
- What are some of the boundaries that you have right now in your life?
- How does the final illustration in the story relate to the gift we have been given in Jesus Christ?
- Does being free in Christ mean that we have been given a free pass to sin as much as we want?
- Is it possible to have boundaries and still be free?
Review prepared by Marcia Rauch, MACE, Entering Cohort Fall 2006
The Big Box by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
