David Olusoga, renown historian and broadcaster, tells us 'this is the book I wish I had been given to read when I was at school', one that explains how the lives of Black people have been part of our national history for centuries. Starting with evidence of Black soldiers in the Roman army guarding Hadrian's Wall, the narrative examines the growing number of Black people making their home in Britain as the nation's links to the outside world expand, with chapters devoted to Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians and Victorians. Further chapters look at the impact of the two World Wars and the rapid growth of a more multicultural society in the 20th Century. Above all it makes a compelling argument that Black History is not an 'extra', but is central to our understanding of British history through its window on the role of slave-trading, colonialism and empire and their consequences for the growing diversity of population. In particular it gives a stirring account of the (continuing) fight against racist attitudes and discriminatory laws with its contemporary incarnation in the Black Lives Matter movement. It presents this complicated history for a younger audience brilliantly, using case histories of individual lives, many archive photographs, maps, and other visual material, as well as using a lively format with panels of differentiated text and enlarged typeface to summarise key points. With few children's books about Black British history currently in print, this is indeed an essential resource.