...If You lived When There Was Slavery In America

This informational text does a really great job of introducing kids to a very heavy and violent, but also very important topic to children in a way that is both respectful to its heritage and some of the horror that slavery was, but also presenting it in a way that isn't so gruesome that it becomes inappropriate for children. It follows a format of questions about slavery that children might ask and then answers that are supported by soft, muted, watercolor illustrations. Some of these questions are broad and very important and things one might learn in a history class like, "Why did slavery start in America?" while some are questions a child might ask like, "Was there time for play?". It is very large font and controls some of its vocabulary so I would recommend it to children ages 6 and up. I think it could be a great classroom tool so that teachers could field questions about the weighted subject matter. 


Title: ...If You Lived When There Was Slavery In America
Author: Anne Kamma
Illustrator: Pamela Johnson
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: 2004
IBSN: 0-439-56706-8
Elly's Rating: 5 /5 Stars