Top 5 books on Black British history, chosen by children’s author Atinuke

Award-winning children’s author Atinuke on the books that give a deeper understanding of a traditionally overlooked area of history.

The Black History Book by DK

This book is for both adults and children, and is both comprehensive and easy to read. It covers African, American and European Black history.

Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann

This adult book is one of my favourites on Black British history. Each chapter is about a Black Briton who lived during the Tudor period, brought to life by descriptions of the surprising world they lived in.

Black and British by David Olusoga

There are three versions of this book – for adults, teenagers, and for children. The adult one is my favourite. My only problem with it? It’s not long enough!

Black Britain by Paul Gilroy and Stuart Hall

This is a book of photographs of Black people in Britain. The photos are stunning, and the text is sharp and informative. It’s for adults but I imagine children would pore over it as well.

The Black Curriculum

This organisation publishes good children’s books on Black British history. They are well researched, and well presented, and frankly we cannot have enough of them!

And if you want more … check out Stephen Bourne’s books on Black British people during the wars, and Catherine Johnson’s children’s historical fiction books.

Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi and winner of The British Book Awards 2024 Children’s Non-Fiction Book of the Year, is out now (Bloomsbury, £8.99). These titles are available to buy or preorder from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

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