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If You Lived When There Was Slavery In America
This 24th book in the highly-regarded series explores an important aspect of America history often overlooked in textbooks.
It is hard to imagine that, once, a person in America could be "owned" by another person. But from the time the colonies were settled in the 1600s until the end of the Civil War in 1865, millions of black people were bought and sold like goods.
Where did the slaves come from? Where did they live when they were brought to this country? What kind of work did they do? With compassion and respect for the enslaved, this book answers questions children might have about this dismal era in American history.
It is hard to imagine that, once, a person in America could be "owned" by another person. But from the time the colonies were settled in the 1600s until the end of the Civil War in 1865, millions of black people were bought and sold like goods.
Where did the slaves come from? Where did they live when they were brought to this country? What kind of work did they do? With compassion and respect for the enslaved, this book answers questions children might have about this dismal era in American history.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
21 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 30, 2015
Personal Reaction - I thought this book did a pretty good job with describing what happened during the time of slavery. It was put into kid friendly reading material so it was a more watered down version but the concepts and event were correct and easy to follow.
Purpose - I would read this book out loud to the class. It would be great in a 2nd or 3rd grade class. This book would be best read during a social studies unit about the United States history and a lesson about slavery. There is some vocabulary in this book that children may not know and there are concepts in this book that children will not understand as well. I love the different perspectives in this book and it gives children a vague but real idea about what slavery was about.
Others - The illustrations are very interesting and informative. They work well with what the author is writing about and definitely support the text.
Purpose - I would read this book out loud to the class. It would be great in a 2nd or 3rd grade class. This book would be best read during a social studies unit about the United States history and a lesson about slavery. There is some vocabulary in this book that children may not know and there are concepts in this book that children will not understand as well. I love the different perspectives in this book and it gives children a vague but real idea about what slavery was about.
Others - The illustrations are very interesting and informative. They work well with what the author is writing about and definitely support the text.
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December 7, 2016Summary: This book introduces the topic of slavery and explains the hardships slaves faced during that time period. It also includes information of how slavery started and how it ended which is important information for children to be introduced to. This book is written with empathy in mind and answers all questions that students may have about slavery.
Review: Although concise, this books offers up a lot of information that is important when learning about slavery. This book includes questions and answers for students to interact with which is helpful when teaching about the topic. This topic may be hard to imagine for children, which is why this book is an important one to include when teaching about difficult topics such as this.
Related Books: 'If You...' books by Anne Kamma, 'Heart and Soul: The Story of American and African Americans" by Kadir Nelson
Social Justice Issue: Race, classism
Review: Although concise, this books offers up a lot of information that is important when learning about slavery. This book includes questions and answers for students to interact with which is helpful when teaching about the topic. This topic may be hard to imagine for children, which is why this book is an important one to include when teaching about difficult topics such as this.
Related Books: 'If You...' books by Anne Kamma, 'Heart and Soul: The Story of American and African Americans" by Kadir Nelson
Social Justice Issue: Race, classism
October 30, 2013
Author: Anne Kamma
Illustrator: Pamela Johnson
Genre: Informational
Grade Level: 4.8
Lexile: 800L
Summary: This story helps students picture what being a slave would’ve been like for someone in that time period. It answers many questions about slaves such as where they came from, what work they did, where did they live, etc. This would be a great book to use as a resource when teaching students about slavery. This is an especially good book because it puts the students in the shoes of the people it is talking about.
Illustrator: Pamela Johnson
Genre: Informational
Grade Level: 4.8
Lexile: 800L
Summary: This story helps students picture what being a slave would’ve been like for someone in that time period. It answers many questions about slaves such as where they came from, what work they did, where did they live, etc. This would be a great book to use as a resource when teaching students about slavery. This is an especially good book because it puts the students in the shoes of the people it is talking about.
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December 2, 2017This book gives information about slavery during the 1600s until 1965 (End of Civil War). Students learn about where slaves came from, how hard slaves had to work, punishments, what it was like to live in the quarters, what the underground railroad was, what passes were, how they could learn to read, what game children played, and how African Americans were sold and bought.
I would use this book for 3rd through 5th graders. I would use this book to teach about the Civil War. A lesson idea I have for this book is a K-W-L chart.
I would use this book for 3rd through 5th graders. I would use this book to teach about the Civil War. A lesson idea I have for this book is a K-W-L chart.
June 19, 2008
I really like the ...If You... series of children's history books for their interactive question and answer format. My kids enjoy trying to guess the answers before we read them aloud. I thought this one was particularly nice, because it had quotes from actual slaves scattered throughout giving a first-hand account of various topics. At the end, it also has a list of historical landmarks and museums relating to slavery, complete with websites that would be great for continuing education.
March 22, 2012
compared to the other books in the series, I found this one to be somewhat lacking. I had really thought it would be a good supplemental resource for my classroom lessons on slavery but it didn't provide the deeper dive or insight I had been looking for and come to expect from the series.
Good for a child to read to build background knowledge but not worth the time for any child who has already been exposed to slavery at school.
Good for a child to read to build background knowledge but not worth the time for any child who has already been exposed to slavery at school.
March 28, 2010
Told simply for even the youngest of readers, this book is a wonderful and detailed collection of question and answers about one of the most difficult topics to explain to a child: slavery. This is a super series (If You Sailed On the Mayflower in 1620, If You Lived In Colonial Times...) An especially supportive aspect about the text were 1st person accounts peppered throughout the book.
July 19, 2010
Children have many questions that a traditional text book may not cover when it comes to slavery. This informative book answers the most common questions asked by children about slavery. Try doing a KWL chart and using this book to answer the "What I Learned" section. The pictures are also detailed and inspire artistic ventures for your students.
January 3, 2014
What is a better book is this? I don't know 'cause I love this book. This taught me the horrible life of slave. When I finished I had shivers all over because I was scared I would become a slave. But I knew I wouldn't. I would of lived around the 1600's. Anyways, I love this book because it uses great details that I can understand perfectly and taught me a ton of things that I didn't know.
December 14, 2009
A very great, easy read! Informs students exactly about slavery and how it was to be a slave or to live in those times. A very good book to read during Black History Month!
July 1, 2015
A concise children's book about the history of slavery in North America. It took me less than 30 minutes to read this... Though short, I learned a lot from this book!
January 18, 2017
Good information for children about what slavery was like.
July 17, 2018
Quite watered down, fails to explore this topic in any depth and applies a very rose-colored lens to it.
February 27, 2022
It is hard to imagine that, once, a person in America could be "owned" by another person. But from the time the colonies were settled in the 1600s until the end of the Civil War in 1865, millions of black people were bought and sold like goods.
Where did the slaves come from? Where did they live when they were brought to this country? What kind of work did they do? With compassion and respect for the enslaved, this book answers questions children might have about this dismal era in American history.
Where did the slaves come from? Where did they live when they were brought to this country? What kind of work did they do? With compassion and respect for the enslaved, this book answers questions children might have about this dismal era in American history.
October 26, 2021
Someone returned this while I was working at the library.... they returned several children's books about Black History, Juneteenth, and slavery. This looked like a fairly quick read, but it also looked as thought it had a lot of detail and, while not too explicit, was an honest representation of what slavery was like. It was, indeed, a quick read, but it's also leading me on a path of reading more about slavery. This is a great book for children, maybe ages 7-10, to read!
October 13, 2025
This was an excellent book for our studies on slavery in the USA. It was so much more detailed and balanced than I was expecting. It really humanized both the slaves and the slave owners. It gave examples from the worst of situations, the best of situations, and everything in-between. It had great drawings, real quotes from slaves, a timeline of events, and more. Highly recommend.
April 9, 2019
Slavery was one of the saddest parts of history. This book is all about people and their lifestyle in slavery.
January 20, 2020
Good introduction for children.
November 1, 2021
This is a really great book to educate children on slavery in America. The small sections of people retelling their personal experiences was hauntingly good.
November 12, 2021
Beautiful book everyone should read to understand how slavery was in America!
May 12, 2025
Although this book is good, I would prefer it to be slightly more organized.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews