All Different Now

Picture book, 40 pages. A family starts their day as slaves, working in a Texas cotton field, and end it celebrating their freedom. Author and Illustrator Notes are profoundly moving. Published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

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Summer Celebrations

We now have a new federal holiday to celebrate setting free the last of the enslaved African Americans in 1865: the Juneteenth National Independence Day bill was signed into law today!

Also, share with your kiddos the celebrations in your town or state commemorating General Granger's 1865 announcement of Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation to the residents of Galveston, Texas, freeing all enslaved people in the state. If you cannot find any celebrations nearby, listen to some music traditionally associated Juneteenth celebrations at Gena Mayo's Music in Our Homeschool.

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Angela Johnson & E.B. Lewis

Johnson has published over 40 books for children and young adults. She writes picture books, poetic stories and novels about African-American families, friendships, and common childhood experiences. Johnson has earned three Coretta Scott King Awards and a Michael L. Printz Award.

Lewis has written or illustrated more than 70 children's books, earning numerous awards including a five Coretta Scott King Awards. He writes in the Illustrator Notes that even though he had illustrated many books, "this one would be my biggest challenge." It's beautifully evocative of what the day must have been like for a child.

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