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Freedom's Gifts: A Juneteenth Story
Finding power in lessons from the past
Juneteenth -- the day Texan slaves found out they had been freed, two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation -- is June's favorite holiday. This year, though, her cousin Lillie will be there for the Juneteenth picnic. That could spoil everything. Lillie is used to celebrating the Fourth of July, like everyone else, and has no interest in Southern traditions. But Aunt Marshall, the girls' great-great-aunt, knows the significance of Juneteenth -- she was about June's age on June 19th, 1865, when the celebration began in Texas -- and she just may be able to convince Lillie that Juneteenth is not a dumb old slave holiday, but a part of her heritage, and the first of many of freedom's gifts.
Juneteenth -- the day Texan slaves found out they had been freed, two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation -- is June's favorite holiday. This year, though, her cousin Lillie will be there for the Juneteenth picnic. That could spoil everything. Lillie is used to celebrating the Fourth of July, like everyone else, and has no interest in Southern traditions. But Aunt Marshall, the girls' great-great-aunt, knows the significance of Juneteenth -- she was about June's age on June 19th, 1865, when the celebration began in Texas -- and she just may be able to convince Lillie that Juneteenth is not a dumb old slave holiday, but a part of her heritage, and the first of many of freedom's gifts.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
About the author
Valerie Wilson Wesley
45 books452 followersValerie Wilson Wesley is an African-American author of mysteries, adult-theme novels, and children's books,[1] and a former executive editor of Essence magazine. She is the author of the Tamara Hayle mystery series. Her writings, both fiction and non-fiction, have also appeared in numerous publications, including Essence, Family Circle, TV Guide, Ms., The New York Times, and the Swiss weekly magazine Die Weltwoche.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 19, 2022
I never knew the history of June 19th for slaves in Texas! This story is a wonderful tale of an older aunt explaining what it was like being a slave and then learning you were free!!
June 20, 2019
#bookaday summer reading challenge Juneteenth two-fer #19 & 20. My first day of Summer Reading at Sierra Vista, and I got to read about Juneteenth ON Juneteenth! ”All Different Now” is GORGEOUS, but does need a lot of additional explanation, especially if your audience doesn’t know about Juneteenth. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Freedom’s Gifts” tries to discuss slavery, emancipation, the Great Migration and Jim Crow all in one book. The result is wordy and confusing for most students, and doesn’t work as a read aloud. Might work for very strong readers who have lots of prior knowledge & a good grasp of the US history timeline.
Anyone got a Juneteenth read-aloud that you love?
“Freedom’s Gifts” tries to discuss slavery, emancipation, the Great Migration and Jim Crow all in one book. The result is wordy and confusing for most students, and doesn’t work as a read aloud. Might work for very strong readers who have lots of prior knowledge & a good grasp of the US history timeline.
Anyone got a Juneteenth read-aloud that you love?
June 18, 2021
This book did a great job with exploring the topic of Juneteenth.
The main character, June lives in Texas. June's cousin, Lillie, comes from NY to visit June's family in Texas. Lillie doesn't know much about Juneteenth and to some degree makes offensive remarks that rubs June the wrong way. Aunt Marshall, a great great aunt of the two girls, listen to her tell the history behind Juneteenth and why that date is so special to her.
This is an easy read that breaks down the importance of Juneteenth. I like how the back of the book gives even more details, dates, and important names.
The main character, June lives in Texas. June's cousin, Lillie, comes from NY to visit June's family in Texas. Lillie doesn't know much about Juneteenth and to some degree makes offensive remarks that rubs June the wrong way. Aunt Marshall, a great great aunt of the two girls, listen to her tell the history behind Juneteenth and why that date is so special to her.
This is an easy read that breaks down the importance of Juneteenth. I like how the back of the book gives even more details, dates, and important names.
August 28, 2017
Fine, but overly earnest, even didactic, imo. Probably better for classrooms of about 4th-grade than for families with tots. Good for homeschools, too, of course. Definitely fills a gap in libraries.
June 13, 2020
I used this book in the library as a tracing tool and thought it very timely
July 28, 2021
An excellent book for talking richly about Juneteenth with my 4 1/2 year old! Thank you for helping me to have the conversations that she's ready for.
February 23, 2011
Summary:
Lillie travels to Texas wher she learns about the Juneteenth celebration that marks the end of slavery. When Lillie makes an ignorant statement about slaves and slavery, her cousin June teaches her about the resilience of the slaves.
-perserverance and strength
-slaves overcoming obstacles
Lillie travels to Texas wher she learns about the Juneteenth celebration that marks the end of slavery. When Lillie makes an ignorant statement about slaves and slavery, her cousin June teaches her about the resilience of the slaves.
-perserverance and strength
-slaves overcoming obstacles
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July 14, 2018Young June lives in Texas, and Juneteenth is her favorite holiday. Her cousin Lillie is visiting from New York City and has never heard of Juneteenth before -- and also notes ways in which Black people in Texas are less free than those up in NYC (this story is set in 1943).
June is our protagonist, so we're sympathetic to her, but Lillie's presence allows the book to educate in a way that I don't find overly didactic. And it also acknowledges that the first Juneneenth wasn't the culmination of freedom:
June is our protagonist, so we're sympathetic to her, but Lillie's presence allows the book to educate in a way that I don't find overly didactic. And it also acknowledges that the first Juneneenth wasn't the culmination of freedom:
"Are we free now?" June asked.I'm not really into the sort of scratchy illustration style, though.
"Freer than we was," Aunt Marshall said.
"But that's not free. Or we could drink water wherever we want, not just where the sign tells us to," Lillie said angrily.
"We're as free as I'll be in this lifetime. Free as I'll be before I die. But not as free as you'll be someday," Aunt Marshall said quietly, and nodded toward Lillie. "You all have freedom's gifts, and can't nobody take them away."
[...]
June thought about the butterfly that had been freer than Aunt Marshall and the water fountain that only white people could drink from. And then she thought about freedom's gifts, and how they would belong to her and Lillie like they never had belonged to Aunt Marshall and Sophie. That made her feel proud and just a little sad, too.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews