**This was a NetGalley book [original due date 5.3.2022] and I have just now found it online to read and review. I was unable to do so originally due to a bad file with no pictures or text.**

The story of slavery, Emancipation, and the final freeing of Texas slaves [900!! days after the Emancipation Proclamation]; it's that freeing that brought about the celebration that is called Juneteenth [originally called Jubilee Day].

Written in a straightforward way, with fantastic illustrations, this book should be read by EVERYONE - a great reminder of any we should always remember history and what we've all come through, and how the work never ends.

Very well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Alliah L. Agostini, Sawyer Cloud - Illustrator, and Quarto Publishing Group/becker & mayer! kids for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that for a serious topic, that the author did a great job in illustrating and informing kids on what Juneteenth is. I think it's excellent material for a library program or a classroom lesson.

This gem of a book will now have a permanent spot in my third grade classroom. Absolutely loved the illustrations and look forward to using it this year with my students.

Great read for youngsters, thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access it in exchange for my feedback.

A really beautiful way to teach kids about Juneteenth. I'm excited to share this with students as we find ways to celebrate Black history every day. Kids will be drawn to the beautiful illustrations which will draw them into the informational text itself.

A nice read and knowledge about Juneteenth, a day when the black people of America celebrates their freedom. Never did I imagined that The United State's Independence Day is not really every US Citizens' , but the blacks remained enslaved back then. A great way to inform, educate, reminiscent is in the form of books. And this book is so precious for telling us how the blacks got their freedom.

Thank you to Alliah L. Agostini, Quarto Publishing Group – Becker & Mayer!, Becker & Mayer! Kids, and Netgalley for a digital arc copy of this book for an honest review!

As a teacher, I have been getting more and more involved with educating myself to black history in the last three years. Taking part in a teacher book club for it every summer, and going out of my ways to start shoring up lacks in my own education about the lives around me. This book is another example of this -- I didn't know about Juneteenth until I was into my 30's, but I'm so glad to be learning more about it!

I think this a great books for kids, encapsulating the most important parts of that time period and written in a manner where they can understand and empathize with the topics.

'The Juneteenth Story' by Alliah L. Agostini with illustrations by Sawyer Cloud is a picture book telling the story of the new national holiday.

Two years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the news finally reached Texas and became a day to celebrate and remember. The holiday slowly spread as families moved to other states, but it was still largely unknown until the President made it a holiday for everyone to celebrate.

Filled with facts and wonderful pictures, I really enjoyed learning more about this holiday and feeling sad that it took this long to learn about it.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - becker & mayer, and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This book did a great job handling a big conversation for young audiences. It contained a lot of facts and was engaging for the little ones.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

JUNETEENTH is celebrated on the nineteenth of June
4★
"The story of Juneteenth started hundreds of years before it was ever celebrated.
On July 4, 1776, Independence Day, America broke away from British rule, and was finally able to bask in the light of freedom . . .
But not everyone who lived there was that fortunate.”

This is a fairly straightforward, colourful history of Africans in America. From the illustrations, I am presuming that the two adults and young girl are parents and daughter, who are shown reading a book together. The illustrations we see are from that book.
My Goodreads review includes a few pictures.

The caption for picture 1:
“It would take eighty-nine more years until enslaved people, too, would be free.”

The contemporary family is often shown at the side or in the corner of these pictures, as if they are witnessing the events. There is a fair bit of information, such as in 1777, Vermont was the first state to free slaves, followed by other northern states and some territories.

Sometimes, a page from the book they are reading is shown to illustrate the facts.

The caption for picture 2;
“Abolitionists worked hard to end slavery. But in some states, enslavers (those who held enslaved people) worked just as hard to keep it going.”

This led to the Civil War in 1861, and our family sees President Abraham Lincoln signing the Proclamation of Emancipation in 1863, declaring the slaves in the ten states of the Confederacy free. In 1865, after the war ended, that became the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

The caption for picture 3:
“The Confederacy surrendered to the Union on April 9, 1865. But it wasn’t until June 19 that Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas.”

The caption for picture 4:
“. . . the secret was ‘finally out. Freedom now belongs to enslaved people, too.”

Some of the newly-freed people packed up immediately and headed out of Texas to return to family and friends in other parts of the country. From being the last to recognise emancipation, Texas was the first to celebrate it with Jubilee Day festivities, which eventually became known as Juneteenth.

The caption for picture 5:
“At many Jubilee Days, the Emancipation Proclamation was recited so that everyone could reflect on the words that had changed their lives forever.”

Some people didn’t want to remember their past and preferred to ignore Juneteenth. In the South, there were “Jim Crow laws” that still demanded separation of blacks and whites.

The caption for picture 6:
“WHITE ONLY”

Following the Civil Rights Movement, many cities began celebrating Juneteenth, and Texas made it a State Holiday in 1979. A real awareness of it came after some dreadful events in 2020 led to serious Black Lives Matter protests.

On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth was signed into law as a US national holiday. Coming as it does a couple of weeks before Independence Day on the fourth of July, it makes a great summer celebration.

It also reminds us to keep working toward the American dream: liberty and justice for all.”

This is a good resource to introduce kids (and their grown-ups) to some American history that is often not well-understood. For some people, the Civil War seems like ancient Greek or Roman history. For me, (I’m old), my grandparents were born at the end of the 1800s, so they would have lived through a lot of this.

The author has written a couple of pages at the end about her own involvement with Juneteenth and how she came to be interested in it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for the copy for review. I have summarised some of the story, because I’m sure many people who are unfamiliar with it might like to recommend it to family or friends.

This book does a wonderful job explaining to readers and youngsters what the Juneteenth story is. It goes in the appropriate amount of detail and is a book that all young readers should be exposed to.

It is a great book conceptwise, the sorrows and joys behind Juneteenth explained in depth with beautiful, fitting illustrations but might be bit hard for young readers and those who aren't familiar with the history. I had a hard time processing what I was reading as a lot of information were dumped in a short time and I kept going back to clear out confusions. Nevertheless, the book deserves praises for covering so many grounds and portraying the events with precision. I would suggest it to readers aged 10-11 and above. In my personal opinion, they would be able to make the best use of the book.

I first wrote this review for my Instagram @miloureadsbooks
A family explains the Juneteenth holiday to their daughter. How it commemorates the freedom and the suffering of enslaved people, the challenges Black people faced while celebrating and how they succeeded spreading black joy across the country. It balanced the tragedy on one hand and the happiness on the other. I think it also very shows clearly that there are still important issues to fight for, so we can create a more equal future for all.

Well, that was certainly informative!

This book covers a lot of ground, and is VERY text-heavy, so it's probably best kept for older children. The author and illustrator do a good job conveying both the sadness, and the joy embodied in the holiday. There's also a handy timeline at the end of the book. It would make a great addition to any classroom or public library.

Another great book for young students to explain the history and importance of Juneteenth. The book contains beautiful illustrations to support the information being shared. I love that they included a timeline in the back of the book.

I learned a lot reading this book. I think that this should be required reading for everyone to better understand the history of our country and what Black people have gone through. This was such a great book and I enjoyed reading it. Learning about the history of slavery is something that we all need to know about to be better and do better.

A Juneteenth Story is a beautiful and heartbreaking book that traces the history of African Americans throughout the history of the United States. It is straightforward and sobering and imparts vital history. It has a timeline of black liberation through present day. It is an excellent resource and picture book for any classroom or household.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book about Juneteenth that also depicts amazing artwork. I too must admit as a Black person that I did not know anything about Juneteenth. I first learned about Juneteenth while away on vacation in Nassau, Bahamas. It so happened that I had visited right around this holiday. When I was asked by my taxi driver what were my plans for Juneteenth, I had to ask what Juneteenth was. Luckily, my driver was gracious enough to not ridicule, but instead, inform and enlighten me and my friends on the history of Juneteenth.

I must say as a parent and a librarian I am really glad that Juneteenth is now recognized as a national holiday. It is something that I will teach my students as well as my son. As I look to update my school's library collection, I will be sure to purchase this book, as it does a phenomenal job explaining the history of Juneteenth from the past to the present day.

This was a well written children book about the history of Jubilee Day or Juneteenth. The author did a wonderful job of the explaining the history of the holiday for both children and adults. The illustration was engaging and colorful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a copy of this book for review

The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States is a well written and colorfully illustrated book about the celebration of the end of slavery in the USA. Due out 3rd May 2022 from Quarto on their becker&mayer! imprint, it's 32 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

Aimed at the youngest readers (ages 6-9 years), this is an engaging and age appropriate retelling of the story of the end of slavery and the codification of the Emancipation Proclamation which was ratified into law as the 13th Amendment. Despite being freed, many former slaves in Texas weren't aware that they were no longer slaves until General Gordon Granger read in Galveston:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free . . .”

The text is simple and accessible and lends itself to interactive reading either with a classroom reading circle or one on one with one's own children. The art is full of small details which invite readers to ponder and take a closer look.

The author has also included a short timeline of events from the beginning of the trans-Atlantic European slave trade down to 2021 when President Biden signed into law Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

Well written and important history, told in an age appropriate manner.

Five stars. This would be a good choice for public library or classroom use, as well as for the home library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.