June thinks Juneteenth is just about the best holiday of the year. There’s food, a parade, and her great-great-aunt Marshall’s stories. Aunt Marshall was only a little girl herself on that first Juneteenth back in 1865—the day Texan slaves finally heard the news of their liberation, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had officially set them free.

This year, though, June is dreading the holiday. Her cousin Lillie will be visiting early, just in time for the Juneteenth picnic.  Lillie is from New York City, hates Texas, and sees Juneteenth as "a dumb old slave holiday."  She's used to celebrating the Fourth of July, like everybody else up North, and thinks she has no use for this "old-timey" festival.  But Aunt Marshall just may be able to convince her niece that the celebration is really a way to remember the greatest of freedom's gifts.

In her first picture book, acclaimed author Valerie Wesley explores the history and the fanfare that makes this holiday a meaningful part of African-American tradition.

From the dust jacket