‘Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief’ by Claire Linney

When Zula’s teacher marks her history project down for historical inaccuracy, she is determined to prove that there were Black people in Tudor England. A visit to her aunt’s antique shop leads to much more convincing proof than she could possibly have imagined when she and her best friend, Milo, are accidentally transported back in time to 1589 in a bathtub time machine. (I love the idea of a bathtub time machine!) The first person they meet is a girl called Jane, daughter of the silk merchant, Reasonable Blackman, who was a real person who lived in Southwark in the late 16th century and is one of the earliest Black business owners on record. A thief has just stolen a bolt of silk from Jane that was intended to make costumes for the newly built Rose Theatre. Zula and Milo must help Jane to trace the thief, get the silk back and, in the process, find a way to get back home again.

‘Time Tub Travellers’ is an exciting and engaging adventure story, perfect for lower KS2, and it is the first book in a series intended to bring to light the relatively unknown and uncelebrated role of Black people in British history. The story is also well-researched and packed with fascinating facts about Tudor London, without being didactic. I first heard about this book through the author’s brilliant TikTok channel where she discusses diverse children’s books. It is a self-published book but it’s really well produced and finished, and I particularly love the cover illustrations of the two main characters by Onyinye Iwu. I’ll definitely be adding this one on to my Year 5 Curriculum Recommended Reading List for their Tudor topic and I can’t wait to find out where the Time Tub Travellers are going next! Highly recommended!