A review by happylilkt
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson

3.0

The illustrations are stand-out gorgeous in this picture book. I really like the frame story of the child wondering about her family history. I think I would want to make it clear to the children reading this that it is one child's family history—that there is a wide range of experiences in history, and this is one of many stories.

(For example... Some slave cargo ships came over much more recently than 1619—some smuggled in even after it was outlawed. Some were kidnapped and sold into slavery by neighboring tribes. There were also born freemen who were caught in the Northern states and enslaved illegally. And of course more recently there are African immigrants with no family history of American slavery. Depending on the age group, I think it would also be good to explain about human trafficking specifically in the 17th - 19th centuries: penal colonies, indentured servants, slavery, etc.)