The Kids Book of Black History in Canada

A comprehensive text exploring Black History throughout Canada and the United States, this middle grade browsable title contains an incredible amount of knowledge about early life in Canada. The Kids Book of Black History in Canada by Rosemary Sadler and Arden Taylor is a must have for library and classroom shelves.

Rosemary Sadler takes readers through history and from coast to coast in Canada to give readers a fulsome picture of what life was like for Black immigrants to Canada throughout history. She does incredibly thorough work by reflecting the diversity of the Black people who arrived and settled in Canada from many places throughout the world while honestly reflecting the hardships and the opportunities that awaited those arriving from the southern United States, the Caribbean, Africa, etc. I enjoy how the book roughly follows a timeline starting in the 1400s with the Transatlantic Slave Trade and ending in modern times where the fight continues against racism and discrimination continues. 

I love how there are multiple figures highlighted throughout the book. Each chapter focuses on an important time or group in Black history and includes an important and influential figure from each time period. There are fantastic asides on each two page spread to highlight critical information for readers making the text highly browsable and engaging. I particularly love how Rosemary Sadler highlights the necessity of not just celebrating Black history in February during Black History month but celebrating all year long. She highlights some important people and festivals throughout the year to help readers and their adults keep the learning always present.

Arden Taylor’s illustrations are an incredible addition to the text, providing context clues and accurate representations of the people and the times throughout history. As a debut children’s book illustrator, her art is vibrant and joyful and I hope to see more books from her in the near future.