Juneteenth commemorates the announcement in Texas in 1865 of the abolition of slavery—two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation—and honors the day that Black Americans gained their freedom.
Whether you’re looking for books to read with your class or have children at home to read with, try these titles to learn more about the history of the holiday.
Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
What is Juneteenth? by Kirsti Jewel
A Flag for Juneteenth by Kim Taylor
The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story by Glenda Armand
Juneteenth by Van G. Garrett
Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle
The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States by Alliah L. Agostini
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story Of The Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper
Juneteenth Jamboree by Carole Boston Weatherford
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson
Juneteenth by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Hope’s Gift by Kelly Starling Lyons
Free at Last! Stories and Songs of Emancipation by Doreen Rappaport
Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation by Patrice Sherman
Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States by Pat McKissack
Freedom’s Gifts: a Juneteenth Story by Valerie Wilson Wesley
Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty by Tonya Bolden
Want to check out a copy of one of these titles? Find them in this booklist through your local library on WorldCat.
