Author: Atinuke
Illustrator: Kingsley Nebechi @KingsleyNebechi
Published by: Bloomsbury @KidsBloomsbury
Published on: 31st August 2023
Price: £12.99
First line: This is a book about British history – the history of some grey-green, rainy islands in the North Sea.
Genre: History
Age: 8+
ISBN: 978 1 5266 3571 6
What’s it all about? A comprehensive study, in chronological order, from 300,000 years ago up to the present day, of people with black skin in Britain. Apart from a few chapters, which detail the rise of Homo Sapiens; how evolution has changed the colour of people’s skin; first Britons; and first civilisations around the world, each double page spread details a particular era in British history from the Romans to Georgians, and explains how Black Britons were involved in life at that time, usually in Briton, but also around the world as the British Empire grew. Some name specific people, such as John Blanke, trumpeter in the Tudor court.
Why should I read it? For people, like myself, who are interested in history, this is a fantastic read, and one that highlights some, perhaps, lesser known facts. The illustrations are absolutely amazing, and I especially love the page of faces entitled ‘Black People Make Britain Great’, where each individual is incredibly skilfully drawn. The chronological way that the book is laid out will also really help children in class to connect all the time periods together, which they can find difficult. The language and sentence construction means that this would be accessible to children from ages 8 upwards. There is a good balance on each page between the amount of writing and the pictures.
Kinkajousreadtoo 
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