Skip to main content

Books That Take You There: Emancipation Day

By
 In a few months we will be celebrating a lesser known holiday that is recognized in the United States as June 19th, or Juneteenth. This holiday commemorates the day that slavery ended in the United States. It is also called, “Independence Day," “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day.” To help you learn more about this important holiday we have a list of books you can read.


So Many Years: A Juneteenth Story
Written by Anne Wynter
Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey
New York, NY: Clarion Books, 2025. Informational.

A picture book that explains the history behind the Juneteenth celebrations and how it became a national holiday in 2021. Beautiful illustrations along with the lyrics of "Lift Every voice and Sing", explain the history of what Juneteenth honors and how it has been celebrated through the years. The story goes back and forth in time showing images of enslaved people along with modern-day pictures of Juneteenth parades and celebrations. 

A great book to help teach why Juneteenth is a cause for celebration.



Juneteenth Is
Written by Natasha Tripplett
Illustrated by Daniel J. O'Brien
San Francisco: Chrionicle Books, 2024. Picture Book.

A young girl thinks about what Juneteenth means to her family and her community because community and family is the heart of the Juneteenth celebrations. When this family comes together to celebrate they are honoring their heritage as they share stories and their cultural pride.



They Built Me For Freedom
Written by Tonya Duncan Ellis
Illustrated by Jenin Mohammed
New York, NY: Balzer + Bray, 2024. Informational.

Did you know that there is an Emancipation Park in Houston Texas? In this picture book the history behind the Emancipation Park which was built for freedom, is explained. The story goes back to when the enslaved people of Texas finally learned about President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. They got together and built a park to give them a place to celebrate, have picnics, play games and more. Recently the people in this community restored the park so that once again it can be a place for everyone to gather and celebrate the freedom of their ancestors. 



The Juneteenth Alphabet
Written by Andrea Underwood Petifer
Illustrated by Ana Latese
Naperville, Illinois, Duopress, 2025. Informational.

There is a lot of history behind Juneteenth and in this simple alphabet book kids can learn about Juneteenth. Colorful illustrations and text combine nicely to help introduce young readers to the different cultures of everyone who celebrates this national holiday.



Juneteenth Celebrates Freedom
Written by Myra Faye Turner
Illustrated by Jenai Markia
North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2024. Comics

In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation which stated that all enslaved people were legally free. However, this good news took two years to travel all the way down to Texas. It wasn't until June 19, 1865 that the people in Galveston Texas finally heard about the proclamation. Over time Juneteenth has evolved into a federal holiday which celebrates one of the greatest moments in history. 




















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

By
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Bletchley Riddle

By
  The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dragon Run

By
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
1 comment
Read more