Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
January 20, 2022/in Information Book 8-10 Junior/Middle /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 252 January 2022
Reviewer: Diana Barnes
ISBN: 978-1529052954
Price: £16.99
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Genre: Information Book
Age Range: 8-10 Junior/Middle
Length: 80pp
Buy the Book

Black and British: an illustrated history

Author: David OlusogaIllustrators: Jake Alexander, Melleny Taylor

Professor David Olusoga, OBE, is well known as a historian, broadcaster and presenter, writer, and champion of diversity. His book for adults Black and British: a short, essential history was so well-received that he has written this excellent version for children, remembering that, in his own schooldays, black people did not feature at all in British history. He sets the record straight by telling his readers about the Roman African soldiers who patrolled Hadrian’s Wall, and the African Emperor Septimus Severus, then the black trumpeter, John Blanke, who is shown on a painting as a member of an elite group of musicians playing at the court of Henry VIII. He goes on to point out the black children who appear in Georgian portraits as servants, or adopted children e.g. Dido Belle; includes in the agitation against slavery those who wrote or spoke about their own experiences and helped to achieve its abolition, and brings the story up to date with the black soldiers who fought in the world wars, the Windrush generation, and the many significant black people who are role models today, e.g Dame Malorie Blackman and Sir Lewis Hamilton.  These are only some of the many examples he gives of the contribution that black people have made to our lives and our history.

This book is, as you might expect, very well written and fascinating to read, and it is lavishly illustrated on good quality paper, including some photographs. The two illustrators and the designers are all black: they are pictured on the final page. David Olusoga wishes that he had had something like this book when he was at school, and your reviewer agrees that every school should have copies!

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2022-01-20 08:00:532022-01-20 08:00:54Black and British: an illustrated history

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

BfK 254 May 2022 Download BfK Issue BfK 254 May 2022
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Joy, frivolity and the importance of choice highlighted on the 2022 Klaus Flugge Prize shortlist

May 18, 2022

Diverse, accessible, essential: shortlist announced for the CLiPPA 2022

May 4, 2022

The 2022 Little Rebels Award Shortlist

May 3, 2022

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2022 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
Every Leaf a Halleluja There’s a Ghost in This House
Scroll to top