This is a collection of excellent read-aloud children’s picture books about slavery that are suitable for both young and old. Most of them are true stories and give a lot of insight into the lives of enslaved African Americans in the United States. Slavery is such a difficult topic to discuss with children, and these books are a great way to help children learn about the sad realities of slavery in a gentle way that encourages compassion. My children and I read all of these books and found each one to be worthwhile and valuable for enhancing our study of slavery and American history leading up to the Civil War. They are perfect for Black History Month or United States history in general. I hope this list of picture books about slavery helps enrich your study of slavery in your homeschool or classroom!
Non-Fiction Children’s Books on Slavery
Hammering for Freedom by Rita Lorraine Hubbard
The true story of William Lewis and how he worked day and night for over 20 years to earn the money to free his family from slavery. His story is beautiful and inspiring. This is one of my favorite books on the topic of slavery – highly recommend!!
From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester, artwork by Rod Brown
This picture book on slavery is beautiful, impactful, stirring, and … intense. It is almost too intense to be a children’s book, in my opinion. I say almost because if you think your child is ready to handle some of the more troubling details of slavery, then I think this book is definitely worth reading. It is thought provoking – asking the reader to imagine being in the place of a slave in various circumstances, and also in the place of a slave owner. The story is raw – with images and descriptions of whippings, of the hanging of a slave, of the degrading and brutal treatment of enslaved people when they were sold, and of the horror of slave ships in the Middle Passage. It is poignant – combining words and art in a powerful way.
The artwork by Rod Brown is every bit as much of the story as the text. His paintings are emotional and provocative. In sum, this is a powerful story of American slavery that I heartily recommend if you think your child is ready for it. I probably wouldn’t share it with children younger than sixth grade. Definitely preview the book carefully if your child is going to read it independently. This is an excellent children’s book on slavery for mature children.
Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
This is a beautiful story about Harriet Tubman and the many heroic ways she served others throughout her life. The book touches on her work as a nurse, a spy, a general, and a suffragist, which is not mentioned in many books. I highly recommend this picture book on slavery!
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Caroline Boston Weatherford
This picture book on slavery has absolutely beautiful illustrations and rich poetic text. The author imagines what Harriet’s spiritual journey may have been like, as well as her physical journey to freedom. This story really helps you imagine what it might have been like to make the escape from slavery. There is great factual information about Harriet Tubman at the end of the book. Highly recommend!
So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom by Gary D. Schmidt
Tells the incredible and inspiring story of Sojourner Truth, how she escaped from slavery, became an abolitionist, and later a voice for the civil rights movement and for suffrage. This book is stirring and impactful and Sojourner Truth is a woman that young people should know about. I Highly recommend this children’s book!
Beacon to Freedom: The Story of a Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Jenna Glatzer
This book tells the story of John Rankin and his work in helping nearly 2,000 people escape slavery. The story is so moving and inspiring. It really brings to life the experiences of those who were traveling and assisting on the dangerous journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad. I highly, highly recommend this picture book about slavery!
Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Kadir Nelson
This amazing true story is a must-read! The story is heart-wrenching and triumphant all at once as we learn how Henry “Box” Brown loses his family as a child and again as an adult, endures the cruel life of an enslaved person, and dreams of freedom. In the end he finally finds a way to be free with a genius plan to mail himself to freedom. Highly recommend!
Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
This children’s book gives a lot of detail about Henry Brown, his life in slavery, and his escape to freedom. The details are interesting to read, especially the description of Henry’s experience of mailing himself to freedom. They are also inherently troubling. The author includes an account of Nat Turner, for example, and relates how he was hanged and skinned. This book is inspired by Henry’s own account of his life and includes some of his own words, which is neat to read. I recommend this book for older children only because of the disturbing details. It is a valuable read, but I recommend previewing it before sharing it with your children.
Freedom River by Doreen Rapport
This is an incredible true story about John Parker, an ex-slave who risked his life many times to bring other slaves to freedom. The story is based on John Parker’s autobiography. Highly recommend!
Frederick Douglas: The Lion Who Wrote History by Walter Dean Myers
I love this picture book so much! It tells the amazing true story of an enslaved man named Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass overcame tremendous opposition to escape slavery and became a leader in the abolitionist movement. The book gives a lot of interesting details about his life, including how he taught himself to read as a child, how he stood up to his master, how he fell in love with a free black woman named Anna Murray, and his daring escape to freedom. Frederick Douglass is an important figure in African American history and this is a fantastic book for introducing children to this great man. I’d consider this a must read children’s book on slavery!
Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass by Doreen Rappaport
This book does a wonderful job of telling the story of the brilliant man, Frederick Douglass. It incorporates many of Frederick’s own words into the story, which I really enjoyed. The book covers Frederick’s early childhood being raised by his grandmother, his life as a slave, and his escape to freedom. It also covers his work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, as an abolitionist, and as an activist for civil rights. Frederick Douglass is such an inspiring person and this book does a great job of telling his story – it is a pleasure to read!
Frederick Douglas for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities by Nancy I. Sanders
This book is packed with great information about Frederick Douglass and slavery in general. It is very text-heavy book, so it is more suitable for upper-elementary and middle-school students, and well worth taking time to read. It is also full of great suggestions for learning activities.
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
This children’s book on slavery covers a lot of information, and gives a lot of great details on what it was like to try to escape slavery through the underground railroad. This is more of an informational type non-fiction book, not a story. While very interesting and informative, it might be best in smaller bites for a child with a short attention span.
If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America by Anne Kamma
From the same series as the title above, which I really recommend for elementary age history study! This is a very informative and interesting read, but like all of the books in this series, children with shorter attention spans might need to read it over a few days. This non-fiction book covers the history of slavery in America, why and how it started, a brief explanation of how enslaved people were brought by slave ship to America, the Middle Passage, and life in slavery – work, play, food, homes, marriage, and more. Lots of great information in this children’s book on slavery!
William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate
Excellent read about a lesser-known, yet important participant in the underground railroad. He recorded the stories of many fugitive slaves and helped reunite former slaves with family members that they had been separated from. An inspiring and touching true story!
An Apple for Harriet Tubman – by Glennette Tilley Turner
I’ve read several books about Harriet Tubman, but this is the first time that I have come across this story from Harriet’s childhood. In this story, Harriet was forced to pick apples for her master when she was a little girl. She wondered what the apples tasted like. She snuck a bite and was caught and severely beaten. Harriet promised herself that she would have all the apples she wanted one day – and ultimately she did! The apples trees she planted later in life were a triumphant symbol of all that she had conquered and overcome. Lovely read and easily accessible for young children. Even young children can feel the injustice in Harriet’s childhood experience. This is one of my favorite picture books on slavery for younger kids. It’s great for the older ones as well!
Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom by Gwendolyn Hooks
Ona Judge was a slave owned by George Washington and acted as Martha Washington’s personal seamstress. This story of Ona Judge tells about her life in slavery, her escape, and her new life as a free person. The story is told in a simple and straightforward way that is easy for children to understand. The author does a very good job of giving details that help a child put himself or herself in the shoes of an enslaved person, but are not overwhelming. A very good read about Martha Washington’s courageous slave!
Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Sojourner Truth was one amazing woman! So bold, so strong, so powerful, and so fiery! And this book does a great job of capturing all of that as it describes Sojourner’s life in slavery, her escape with the help of a quaker family, and her fight for abolition and for women’s suffrage. This woman is so inspiring, and this book does a great job of conveying that in a way that is very easily accessible to children. One of my favorite picture books about slavery for early elementary on up!
A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet by Kathryn Lasky
If you don’t know who Phillis Wheatley is you need to read this book! Phillis Wheatley was brought to America before the Revolution to be a slave when she was just a young girl. Her mistress recognized how intelligent she was and taught her to read and write. Phillis blossomed into a talented poet and published a book, defying popular beliefs about black people. The illustrations in this picture book are beautiful and the text is lovely. The author does a great job of representing different attitudes toward black people around the time of the Revolution in America, and the challenges Phillis faced as an educated enslaved woman. I really enjoyed this book and learning about Phillis Wheatley.
Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom by Connie Schofield-Morrison
This is the true story of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly. Lizzy, as she was called, grew up in slavery and was taught to sew by her mother. She became an excellent seamstress, and her skill as a dressmaker was in high demand. Lizzy had many loyal customers, some of whom raised the money to buy Lizzy’s freedom (Lizzy paid them back as soon as she could). She made dresses for many important figures, such as Mary Anna Custis Lee (wife of Robert E. Lee), and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (wife of President Lincoln), so she has an interesting place in the background of history.
Lizzy became a successful business owner, and employed other African American women. She used her connections and success to help newly liberated African Americans who were struggling to survive. This is a great story about a very interesting woman! It is quite gentle in its content about slavery, which makes it an appropriate picture book about slavery for any age.
Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
This is a remarkable story about a remarkable man! Robert Smalls was an enslaved man during the Civil War who, along with several other slaves, stole a boat from the Confederate Army and delivered it to the Union. In doing this, Robert Smalls also delivered himself, his wife and children, and the slaves who conspired with him to freedom. Robert went on to become the first black captain in the United States Navy. He helped the Yankee navy in many courageous and daring ways during the Civil War. He also convinced Abraham Lincoln to allow former slaves to enlist in the Union Army.
Robert Smalls helped rebuild South Carolin after the Civil War, and was influential in the government. This book explains how South Carolina descended into segregation and the removal of black peoples’ right to vote. Robert Smalls’ story is so incredible – you really don’t want to miss this book! There is a lot of text in the book, so it is best to for middle elementary and up. I actually had my high school kids read it as well – it’s that good! One of the best picture books on slavery that we have read – I can’t recommend it enough!
Historical Fiction Children’s Books on Slavery
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
I love this story! It is a fictional book that tells the legend of Peg Leg Joe who helped lead slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad (and you may have been a real person, but that is unclear). He tells the slaves the way to go by teaching them a song about the Drinking Gourd, which is the Big Dipper. Be sure to listen to the song after you read the book! This is one of my favorite picture books on slavery.
Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
This is the fictional tale of a young runaway slave girl who escapes to freedom via the underground railroad. The story is narrated by her rag doll which gives it an innocent and childlike touch. This picture book does a great job of telling the story of slavery from a child’s perspective.
The Bell Rang by James E. Ransome
This fictional picture book on slavery is about daily life for a slave girl and the heartache she endures when her older brother runs away. I think this story is a great representation of the heartbreaking severing of family ties that was so common to the African American experience during the era of slavery in the United States.
Steamboat School by Deborah Hopkinson
This children’s book on slavery is inspired by the true story of Reverend John Berry Meachum and his incredible “Floating Freedom School.” The school floated on a steamboat in the Mississippi River, and was Meachum’s solution to a law passed in Missouri in 1847 banning the education of all black people, slave or free. This is a really inspiring story and a great read!
All Different Now: Juneteenth and the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson
Juneteenth is the celebration of the day, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was given, when many slaves first learned that the government of the United States had declared that they were free. This book does a beautiful job of telling young readers about this important part of the American story of slavery. It tells the story through the eyes of a young girl which makes it accessible and easy to read. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. This picture book about the end of slavery is a delight to read.
Light in the Darkness: A Story About How Slaves Learned in Secret by Lesa Cline-Ransome
This is a historical fiction children’s book about the factual “pit schools” where slaves would hide from slave owners and learn to read and write from a literate slave. Very interesting read with information that you don’t come across very often!
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson
This is such a lovely and sweet story. It is about a young enslaved girl named Clara who dearly wants to be free. She doesn’t know how she can ever find her way to freedom, but she has an idea to make a quilt that is a map. She listens to people talk about the places they have been, and bit by bit she pieces together a map to the Ohio River. There is a boat there which is part of the Underground Railroad. Clara memorizes her map as she stitches it and follows the path to freedom. This is a gentle and warm story that doesn’t include many harsh details about slavery. The gentle approach of the story makes it a perfect picture book about slavery for young and sensitive children.
Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson
This is a fictional story, told in poem form, of a slave child fleeing slavery on the Underground Railroad. It helps the reader imagine what it might have been like to make that journey and finally escape to freedom. This book gives treats slavery with a light touch, so it’s a great choice for young and sensitive readers!
I hope you have enjoyed this list of children’s books on slavery! Thank you for visiting! Please come back soon!
Check out the links below for more great children’s books on United States history!
