The Book of Negroes

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. What is Aminata’s religion?

2. Who first introduces Aminata to reading?

3. What is the name of Aminata’s native village?

4. What does Aminata’s mother do for work?

5. What happens to Aminata’s parents?

6. In addition to the moon’s cycles, what does Aminata use to track time during captivity?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is one of the ways that enslavers used fear and humiliation to keep their captives under control?

2. What can readers learn about West African history from the stories of Timbuktu? 

Chapters 4-9

Reading Check

1. What is a djeli?

2. What is the English name Tom gives Aminata?

3. How many captives are left alive when the ship reaches Sullivan’s Island?

4. Why can’t Aminata forgive Fanta?

5. Why does Aminata’s name change to Meena?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What doesn’t Aminata respond well to Tom’s touch? (Chapter 4)

2. What does Aminata mean by the “jolly abolitionist?” (Chapter 5)

Paired Resource

“A History of the Griot in African Society”

• Griot, a West African term, refers to a class of traveling musicians, storytellers, and poets that keep the history of their villages. This video explains the history of the griot and their importance to storytelling in parts of West Africa.
• This term has been used in popular culture, as recently as the Black Panther films. After a discussion of the griot, students may be directed to draw connections between traditional griot or djeli and the AI griot from this Wakanda Forever clip.
• These resources have connected themes of Storytelling and The Importance of Names and Naming.
• Write a poem that tells the story of your name. Prepare it for a sharing circle next lesson.

Chapters 10-16

Reading Check

1. When Chekura returns to Aminata, what body part is he missing? (Chapter 10)

2. A song playing in the London church to which Sir Stanley Hastings brings an elderly Aminata causes her to faint. What is the name of the song?

3. What does “Manna-hata” mean in English?

4. What valuable skill does Aminata teach the freed Black people of Canvas Town?

5. Who is Daddy Moses?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What causes Aminata to lose her trust in Mr. Lindo?

2. What is remarkable about Canvas Town?

3. What is the Philipsburg Proclamation of 1779?

4. Why does Aminata name her baby May?

5. What happened to Daddy Moses’s church?

Paired Resources

“The Phillipsburg Proclamation, 1779”

• This resource comes from the Bill of Rights Institute. It gives context to the historical document.
• The resource connects to the theme Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual.
• The historical Book of Negroes documented those of African descent who served the British in the Revolutionary War. What significance does a ledger like the Book of Negroes have on the lives of people seeking freedom?

“The Importance of Literacy in the Abolitionist Movement”

•  Aminata teaches emancipated Black people how to read in this section of the novel. The importance of this act is emphasized by foreshadowing, even as early as the first few chapters of the novel. This resource from History.com explains how literacy changed the face of abolitionism.
• This resource connects to the themes of Storytelling and Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual.
• How do the lives of emancipated Black people change after Aminata teaches them to read?

Chapters 17-21

Reading Check

1. What does Sierra Leone mean in Aminata’s native language?

2. What is Aminata asked to show to the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade? 

3. What is the name of the former enslaved man who wrote an influential narrative about his voyage to America?

4. Who is William Armstrong?

5. What does Aminata decide is more important than completing her voyage to Bayo?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why are the Novia Scotians worried about their new settlement being located near Bance Island?

2. What is so dangerous about Aminata’s voyage to the Bayo village?

3. During her journey to Bayo, what does Aminata overhear Alassane and his men speaking about in Fulfulde?

Paired Resources

“Saving a Language in Sierra Leone”

• This video prepared by The New York Times shares the struggles of maintaining a critical language in Sierra Leone.
• This resource connects to the themes of Storytelling and Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual.
• Why is language a large part of culture?

“Slave Trade Ghost Island: The Dark History of Bunce Island”

• Bunce Island was a trading port that has a nasty legacy in the trading of enslaved people. This CNN article explains more on the history of the place.
• This resource connects to the themes of Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual and The Importance of Names and Naming.
• What are some key differences between Bance Island and Bunce Island? What are some things that are similar?

Recommended Next Reads 

Roots by Alex Haley

• This novel follows the story of Kunta Kinte, a captured African sold into slavery into America in the 18th century. The story follows Kinte’s family line all the way to the author, Alex Haley. Although very graphic and realistic in its depiction of slavery, Roots uses storytelling and intergenerational history to draw connections from the past to today.
• Shared themes include Storytelling, The Importance of Names and Naming, and Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual.
• Shared topics include slavery, inter-generational trauma, and the African Diaspora.
• Roots on SuperSummary

The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

• This novel is more modern, although still a period piece. Billie James revisits the Mississippi Delta 30 years after she inherits property from her father, a famous Black poet who died one night when she was a child.
• Shared themes include Storytelling, Migration, and Identity: Racial, Geopolitical/National, Philosophical/Spiritual.
• Shared topics include generational traumas and African American history.