What Is Juneteenth? (What Was?)

by Kirsti Jewel (Author) Manuel Gutierrez (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: What Was?

Discover more about Juneteenth, the important holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States.

On June 19, 1865, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered around a Union solder and listened as he read the most remarkable words they would ever hear. They were no longer enslaved: they were free. The inhumane practice of forced labor with no pay was now illegal in all of the United States. This news was cause for celebration, so the group of people jumped in excitement, danced, and wept tears of joy. They did not know it at the time, but their joyous celebration of freedom would become a holiday--Juneteenth--that is observed each year by more and more Americans.

Author Kirsti Jewel shares stories from Juneteenth celebrations, both past and present, and chronicles the history that led to the creation of this joyous day.

With 80 black-and-white illustrations and an engaging 16-page photo insert, readers will be excited to read this latest addition to Who HQ!

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Kirsti Jewel
Kirsti Jewel is an educator and writer from New York City. This is her first Who HQ book.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780593384695
Lexile Measure
960
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Penguin Workshop
Publication date
April 05, 2022
Series
What Was?
BISAC categories
JNF018010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JNF026080 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Nonreligious
JNF025170 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | United States/General
Library of Congress categories
-

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