In 2021, under the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Juneteenth became a federal holiday, officially named Juneteenth National Independence Day. Juneteenth—a portmanteau of June and nineteenth—was first celebrated over 150 years ago in Galveston, Texas by formerly enslaved Black Americans. As the newly freed Black Texans migrated throughout the United States, they carried the culture and tradition of Juneteenth with them. The holiday is now recognized as the symbolic end of slavery.
To learn more about Juneteenth, here are 18 picture books by Black authors for classroom, home, and community reading. There are two by or about Opal Lee. Find out why she’s called the “Grandmother” of Juneteenth. For additional books, see Freedom Day!: 8 Juneteenth Books for Older Readers. Happy June and Juneteenth!
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Kortney Nash | DeAndra Hodge | Godwin Books | May 20, 2025
2. So Many Years: A Juneteenth Story
Anne Wynter | Jerome Pumphrey | Clarion Books | May 6, 2025
Tonya Abari | Tabitha Brown | Mudpuppy | April 11, 2023
Dorena Williamson | Markia Jenai | WorthyKids | May 3, 2022
5. The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate
Alliah L. Agostini | Chef Taffy Elrod | Sawyer Cloud | Becker & Mayer | April 2, 2024
Natasha Tripplett | Daniel J. O’Brien | Chronicle | April 9, 2024
7. They Built Me for Freedom: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park
Tonya Duncan Ellis | Jenin Mohammed | Balzer + Bray | May 14, 2024
8. Juneteenth
Van G. Garrett | Reginald C. Adams | Samson Bimbo Adenugba | Versify | May 2, 2023
9. The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story
Glenda Armand | Corey Barksdale | Crown BYR | May 2, 2023
10. Jayylen’s Juneteenth Surprise
Lavaille Lavette | David Wilkerson | Golden Books | May 2, 2023
Kim Taylor | Neal Porter Books | January 3, 2023 | Amazon | Bookshop
12. Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem
Sojourner Kincaid Rolle | Alex Bostic | Union Square Kids | May 24, 2022
13. The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States
Alliah L. Agostini | Sawyer Cloud | becker&mayer! kids | May 3, 2022
14. Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free
Alice Faye Duncan | Keturah A. Bobo | Thomas Nelson | January 11, 2022
15. Juneteenth: A Children’s Story
Opal Lee | Peter Viska | Unity Unlimited Inc. | March 3, 2022
16. All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
Angela Johnson | E.B. Lewis | Simon & Schuster BYR | May 6, 2014
Floyd Cooper | Capstone | February 1, 2015
Carole Boston Weatherford | Yvonne Buchanan | Lee & Low Books | August 1, 2007
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