The Kids Book of Black Canadian History

by Qijun Wang (Illustrator), Rosemary Sadlier

From the first Black person who came to Canada about 400 years ago to the most recent wave of African immigrants, Black Canadians have played an important role in our country's history. In this informative overview, kids will discover the inspiring stories and events of a people who fought oppression as they searched for a place to call their own. Featuring fact boxes, mini-profiles, a timeline and more, this book in the acclaimed Kids Book of series offers a glimpse into an often-overlooked part of Canadian history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada, Education

56 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2003

Reviews

[Kathie]

This was the perfect book to read to kick off Black History Month because I knew little about the history of Black people in Canada beyond what I was taught in school many years ago about The Underground Railroad. This highly illustrated middle-grade nonfiction book starts by discussing how Africans first came here centuries ago and how enslaved people were brought to New France and British Canada and helped establish Canada as an independent country. It continues until today with short profiles of many accomplished Black Canadians and their successes. There are also sections on topics such as Black soldiers who fought for Canada in the world wars, immigration issues for residents of Africa and the Caribbean, and the countless ways that racism has placed roadblocks in the way of equal treatment for Black people in Canada.

I learned so much new information; I was unaware that many people who fled to Canada during the Civil War returned home to the United States after slavery was abolished, and I knew nothing about the Black Californians who relocated to BC or the critical role that Black settlers from states such as Oklahoma played in developing western Canada. I feel like Canada’s mistreatment of Indigenous people is well-known, but this book illuminated a part of history that’s not talked about, and that’s vital for young Canadians to know if we have any hope of not repeating the mistakes of our past.

I highly recommend this book to all public and school library collections in Canada, and I encourage you to pick it up and educate yourself about the topic.

[Elizabeth]

Despite having been born and raised in Canada, I learned almost none of this in school. With very limited exceptions, most of what I already knew in this book is stuff I read about independent of school, either as a child or as an adult. Far too much of it includes stuff I didn't learn until I was an adult. I know that school curricula have come a long way since I was a kid, but I also know they haven't come far enough. And unfortunately for everyone, kids learning better now doesn't mean that the adults who dealt with the shitty curricula back in the day will learn any different now. I think it's important that we all put in the effort to fill in those gaps in our knowledge. So here I am reading a kids history book!

To be fair, I love reading history primers that were intended for kids. I think it's a great way to fill in the gaps in my own knowledge while seeing what kids today are actually getting to learn. And this was an excellent one!

The book is fairly short, but it manages to summarize hundreds of years of history while staying comfortably under one hundred pages. The page limitation means it doesn't go in depth on anything, but it does a great job of providing a basic knowledge on all of the most important points. A lot of it was stuff I knew, but it was common for those things to be stuff I learned separately, so it helped create a more linear timeline for me. There were also some great pieces of information throughout that I hadn't had the chance to read about before or that I read about long enough ago that I didn't remember until I saw it and had that "oh yeah!" moment. Folks who haven't spent as much time trying to catch up will find more things they haven't read about before as well. I think knowing more subjects to look into next is one of the great things about primers like this, and it's definitely true of this one.

The accompanying illustrations are subtle and lovely, serving to enhance the text without being too distracting.

Highly recommended for Canadian children and adults looking to expand their base level of knowledge!

[Michelle Quinn]

This book is excellent. It's informative and arranged in sections making it easier for children to find the information they're seeking. The illustrations are bright and modern. I will be getting this for our school library.

[Wunderdrugged]

This title is nominated for the 2026 Hackmatack Award in the English Non-fiction category. As a Canadian descendant of white settlers living in rural New Brunswick, I had heard stories from my great-grandfather about the Black families that he was close with as a child in the early 1900. But by the time I came of age in the 1990s, most of those families had left the area. I naively assumed their descendants had moved to larger centers to pursue better opportunities. As I have gotten older and become more informed, I understand that there were many factors at play. It was extremely eye-opening to read about the discrimination and prejudice that Black people faced in Canada, considering that my generation was fed the narrative that there is no racism in this country. How incredibly wrong that is/was!
This book lays out the facts in an easily digestible format. Each two page spread contains a lot of information. It covers the time from pre-confederation right up to modern day, from east to west and all points in between. I learned so much about various waves of immigrants & where they originated. I strongly believe that this book should be required ready by the time everyone hits middle school. As a very educated, middle aged white woman I am embarrassed to admit how much I learned from reading this book. Highly recommended.

[Deb Kiley]

What an amazing book full of details and people of Canada's past. An an educator in the United States, I learned so much about the contributions of Black Canadians for the last 200+ years. Each set of two pages covers a topic, an issue and there are maps, profiles, fun facts, and enough detail for upper elementary and middle school students to get an introduction to this important history. I used to teach my students about the Atlantic Slave Trade Route, but never realized that it impacted Canada. It was never in my curriculum, but it should have been. In the US, I knew about the Dust Bowl and western settlements, but I had never heard the term Exodusters who left the dry land of Oklahoma in hopes of a better future up North. I think I learned something new on every page!
At the end of the book, there are over 36 short biography snippets about Black Canadians and their contributions to Canada and the world. There were a few people I knew from sports or music, but the majority are regular people who did extraordinary things, such as a cancer researcher, a mayor and a playwright. These Canadians lived across the provinces and were part of so many groundbreaking events. I love that this book highlights them and their accomplishments. I would hope students could see themselves represented.
Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
#TheKidsBookofBlackHistoryinCanada #NetGalley

[Amanda Sanders]

This book about Canadian Black history includes a lot of Black history from the United States and other countries. Canada is a melting pot and has always welcomed immigrants. They have a points system in place now to determine who has priority for entering the country. Since speaking French or English is worth some points, the African countries that speak those languages have an advantage. Lots of interesting tidbits like that can be found in this nonfiction reference book. This would be a great part of any juvenile library. My favorite statistic from the book is that before the US civil war, there were about 60,000 Black Canadians (many of them escaped slavery in the Us south). After the civil war many former slaves returned to the US. The Black population in Canada dropped to just 18,000.

[Lellie]

It was super refreshing to see Black history outside of the US lens. While the Black communities throughout history in Canada share similarities to the struggles of those in the US, they are still different countries and the experiences of Canadians is different than those of the US. This is filled with information, but the sections are short and easy to understand. The illustrations are lovely. And the final pages include a bunch of famous famous Black Canadians such as athletes or academics. Perfect for classrooms and schools globally, and especially in Canada!

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[c]

*ARC given through NetGalley in exchange for a review, thank you!*

This is a wonderful book. As a history girly, I've learned much thanks to this book. Simply lovely! The illustrations are beautiful as well. Clear and concise, props to the author and illustrator for this much-needed book highlighting history that is sadly not talked about enough in Canadian schools!

[Kimberly]

I found this book to be enlightening because it followed Canadian Black History. Growing up in the US, you don't get a well-rounded course of World Black History. So, being able to read about that subject and how it ran its course to the present in another country was very interesting.

[Diane Rembert]

Up until now, I've only learned about black history in Africa, the Caribbean and the United States. It was refreshing to learn about our history in Canada, as well.

I keep saying these children's books are out here teaching the young and old alike.