Slave trade books for children and teens
Children’s ooks about the slave trade range from historical fiction and biography to verse novels and accessible nonfiction. Some introduce figures such as Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince and Harriet Tubman, while others use fictional characters to make the past feel immediate. The most powerful and effective books handle difficult material with care, keep enslaved people’s voices and humanity at the centre, and help readers grasp Britain’s role as well as the wider global story. They can prompt thoughtful questions, honest discussion and deeper historical understanding. This list features books by Kwame Alexander, Catherine Johnson, Alex Wheatle, Esi Edugyan, Yaa Gyasi, Andrea Levy, Zora Neale Hurston, Mary Prince, James Walvin, and Kereen Getten.
Slave trade books for children and teens – our recommendations
Slave trade books for 7-12 year olds – our recommendations
Unspoken: Talking About Slavery by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Dare Coulter
A classroom conversation opens into a powerful poetic account of enslavement, resistance and freedom, moving from Africa and the forced Atlantic crossing to plantation labour and emancipation. Dare Coulter’s immersive visual style give individuals dignity and presence while Kwame Alexander’s explosive words invite careful discussion. It’s a thought-provoking and moving choice for 7+ year olds, and ideal for discussion in KS2. Highly recommended.
Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature: A biography in poems by Caroline Brewer
Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman learns to read the natural world, escapes north and repeatedly risks her life to guide others towards freedom. KS2 students can follow her extraordinary story through Caroline Brewer’s poems and richly layered collage artwork, which capture both Tubman’s practical skills and her resolve. It is an accessible, emotionally direct introduction to the woman behind the Underground Railroad.
Freedom by Catherine Johnson
Jamaica, 1783: After his mother and baby sister have been sold to another plantation, Nathaniel is taken to England by the family that enslaves him.. He has heard that setting foot on English soil can bring freedom, but the reality proves far less simple. For UKS2 children, this tightly written historical adventure makes the struggle for liberty relatable while drawing on the powerful narratives of real people and events.
Journey Back to Freedom: The Olaudah Equiano Story by Catherine Johnson, illustrated by Katie Hickey
Kidnapped from his home in what is now Nigeria at the age of eleven, Olaudah Equiano endures enslavement and years at sea before purchasing his freedom and joining the abolitionist cause. For UKS2 and KS3 readers, the pacey narrative keeps the sense of Olaudah’s resourcefulness and determination ever present, while Katie Hickey’s immersive illustrations support the historical detail. It offers an accessible and empathetic glimpse into an extraordinary life and the campaign against the slave trade. Highly recommended.
Mary Prince by E. L. Norry
From an enslaved childhood in Bermuda to a new life in Britain, Mary Prince refuses to let others silence her account of cruelty, separation and survival. Told as a powerful first-person biographical retelling, the story shows how her testimony became a powerful part of the abolitionist movement. Its direct, accessible approach works well for Year 4, 5, and 6 students meeting this important figure for the first time.
Blackbeard’s Treasure by Iszi Lawrence, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
In 1718, Abigail and Boubacar leave a Caribbean plantation and find themselves aboard a pirate ship crewed by people who have escaped enslavement. Captain Black Caesar is hunting Blackbeard, bringing danger and the harsh realities behind Caribbean piracy sharply into view. 10+ year olds will by drawn into this lively pirate legend adventure. It’s ideal for class reading.
Queen of Freedom: Defending Jamaica by Catherine Johnson, illustrated by Amerigo Pinelli
British soldiers enter Jamaica’s Blue Mountains in 1720 to hunt the Maroons, communities formed by people who escaped slavery. Queen Nanny answers with strategy, local knowledge and fierce leadership, organising resistance against a much larger force. Rooted in the history of the First Maroon War, this illustrated adventure offers 9-11 year olds a gripping introduction to one of Jamaica’s great freedom fighters.
Two Sisters: A Story of Freedom by Kereen Getten, illustrated by Alette Straathof
Half-sisters Ruth and Anna grow up together in Jamaica, yet Anna’s lighter skin brings privileges denied to Ruth. When both are sent to London, one lives upstairs while the other is forced into service below, and Anna must decide whether she will challenge the injustice surrounding them. The close family relationship makes a complex history immediate and understandable for Year 6 pupils and older.
The Story of Slavery by Sarah Courtauld
From slavery in ancient societies to the Atlantic trade, plantation resistance, abolition and exploitation in the modern world, the subject is broken into short, manageable sections. 7+ year olds will read about how enslaved people fought back, escaped and helped bring about change rather than being presented only as victims. It is a powerful narrative nonfiction introduction for independent reading or supported classroom discussion. Highly recommended.
Slave trade books for teens – our recommendations
The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
Eleven-year-old Kofi Offin loves swimming, stories and time with Ama in his Upper Kwanta village, but a death during a festival with a rival community changes everything. Written in verse, the novel moves from the warmth of everyday life into a harrowing struggle for survival across land and sea. Its emotional intensity and subject matter make it a powerful read for KS3 students.
Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle
Fourteen-year-old Moa has spent his life on Jamaica’s Frontier sugar plantation. When Tacky calls enslaved workers to rise against their captors in 1760, joining the rebellion places Moa and his friend Keverton in immediate danger, including a mission to confront the brutal overseer. The violence and moral pressure are unflinching, making this historical novel suitable for more able and mature 13+ year olds.
Kemosha of the Caribbean by Alex Wheatle
Escaping brutal treatment in Port Royal, Kemosha finds an ally in Ravenhide, learns to wield a sword and boards Captain Morgan’s ship in the hope of buying her brother’s freedom. Her growing bond with runaway Isabella adds warmth to a story shaped by danger, inequality and survival. 12+ will enjoy this fast-moving and atmospheric Caribbean adventure that never loses sight of the violence underpinning its pirate world.
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Young Wash is pulled from field work on a Barbados sugar plantation when the eccentric inventor Christopher ‘Titch’ Wilde chooses him as a servant and research assistant. A sudden death puts Wash in mortal danger, sending the pair on an extraordinary escape that eventually leaves him searching for safety and belonging alone. Its powerful presentation, literary complexity and wide historical canvas make it a rewarding choice for more mature teens and sixth-formers.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Two half-sisters in eighteenth-century Ghana are separated without knowing one another: Effia marries an Englishman in Cape Coast Castle, while Esi is imprisoned below before being transported to America. Successive chapters follow their descendants across seven generations, revealing how slavery and colonialism shape lives on both sides of the Atlantic. 16+ year olds will need to keep track of the frequent shifts in time and viewpoint, but the distinctive cumulative structure makes the historical consequences feel deeply empathetic. Highly recommended.
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
As her son prepares her memoirs for publication, July looks back on life at Jamaica’s Amity plantation during the final years of slavery. For readers aged 16+, her sharp, sometimes mischievous narration makes a demanding history approachable, taking in the 1831 Baptist War, emancipation and a deeply unequal society. Brutality sits beside mundanity in a remarkable story that questions who gets to record history and why.
A Short History of Slavery by James Walvin
Key contemporary sources sit alongside James Walvin’s tight narrative to show how the Atlantic slave trade became economically powerful, socially accepted and eventually challenged. The landmark book traces the system’s rise and fall while keeping Britain’s role and its continuing repercussions firmly in view. With dense primary material and an adult historical approach, it’s ideal for sixth-form students who want a clear and concise historiography.
The History of Mary Prince by Mary Prince
Dictated after she left her enslaver’s household in London, Mary Prince’s testimony records childhood separation, exhausting labour and repeated brutality in Bermuda, Turks Island and Antigua. 16+ year olds can explore the first narrative of a Black woman’s life published in Britain, a work that gave abolitionists direct first-hand evidence from an enslaved woman. The original voice and editorial material make this Penguin Classics edition particularly suitable for sixth-form study.
Barracoon: The Story of the Last Slave by Zora Neale Hurston
Over a series of interviews in Alabama, Cudjo Lewis tells Zora Neale Hurston about his childhood in Africa, capture, confinement at Ouidah and the Middle Passage aboard the Clotilda. His account continues through enslavement, emancipation and the building of Africatown, preserved in the distinctive voice Hurston recorded. Including some traumatic detail and at times challenging dialect, it is a highly compelling work of oral history best suited to sixth-formers.
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Slave trade resources for teachers
- The National Archives provides a collection of original documents, photographs and enquiry questions exploring Britain’s involvement in transatlantic slavery, resistance by enslaved people, abolition and the continuing trade after 1807.
- The Understanding Slavery Initiative offers extensive primary and secondary teaching resources based on museum collections. Materials include classroom activities, downloadable PDFs, maps, timelines, audio recordings, artefacts, a glossary and valuable guidance on sensitive teaching and appropriate language.
- The International Slavery Museum has assembled online resources, videos, audio recordings and a downloadable teachers’ pack covering the history of transatlantic slavery, African cultures, plantation life, resistance, abolition and its lasting legacies.
- Royal Museums Greenwich provides videos and teachers’ notes for KS3, KS4, GCSE and post-16 students. The resources explore how transatlantic slavery continues to shape public spaces, migration, communities, racism, inequality, culture, education and activism.
- The UK Parliament website examines Parliament’s role in supporting, regulating and eventually abolishing the British slave trade. It includes archival records, a timeline, background articles and audio featuring abolitionist poetry, extracts from Olaudah Equiano’s letters and historical dramatisations.
- Historic England offers historical images of buildings, ports, graves, monuments and memorials connected with slavery and abolition in England. Its teaching activities encourage pupils to investigate local evidence and consider how people and places connected with slavery are remembered.
- For data-led secondary lessons, SlaveVoyages provides free lesson plans alongside searchable voyage records, maps, timelines, ship visualisations and databases of enslaved people. Activities include analysing voyage data, examining primary sources and researching the scale and geography of the transatlantic trade.
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