Common Sense Media Review
By Diondra K. Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Spare, bold book shares Juneteenth's enduring meaning.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
A KIDS BOOK ABOUT JUNETEENTH takes readers back 400 years to 1619, when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the United States. The institution of slavery in the country was both profitable and inhumane, causing the onset of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Once the Union army defeated the Confederate army in 1865 it took months for the news to spread across the country. On June 19, 1865, the news finally reached Galveston, Texas. This was the day that all Black people in the country knew they were free, and celebrations began. But unfortunately, the public, yearly celebrations came to end when the Jim Crow era began. 100 years later Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others fought to reclaim the important holiday, and in 2021, U.S. President Biden recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
Is It Any Good?
This accessible, well-designed book is even better when read together. A Kids Book About Juneteenth offers important learning opportunities for children and adults alike. Writer Garrison Hayes shares the personal reasons why it was important to him to write this book, including, "the stories of the past help us understand today and build a better tomorrow." This message is made clear on each page. The book highlights how important and necessary Juneteenth celebrations are. While this holiday spotlights a painful past, it also represents hope for the future.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how in A Kids Book About Juneteenth the author shared important facts about the history of the holiday. What is something new you learned?
Have you read other books from the A Kids Book About collection? How was this book similar? How was it different?
Have you ever celebrated Juneteenth? How is this holiday different from Independence Day?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : History
- Topics : Activism , History
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : A Kids Book About, Inc.
- Publication date : June 1, 2023
- Number of pages : 66
- Available on : Nook, Hardback
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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