In the beginning : the transatlantic trade in children of African descent -- "You know I am one man that do love my children" : slave children and youth in the family and community -- "Us ain't never idle" : the work of enslaved children and youth -- "When day is done" : the play and leisure activities of enslaved children and youth -- "Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave" : temporal and spiritual education -- "What has ever become of my presus little girl" : the traumas and tragedies of slave children and youth -- "Free at last" : the quest for freedom -- "There's a better day a-coming" : the transition from slavery to freedom.