Juneteenth Books

How are you celebrating Juneteenth?

I love how books provide different perspectives and how easy it is to learn from stories. If books aren’t your favorite way to learn, there are also wonderful movies, shows, museums, music, dance, art, food, and other ways to experience different perspectives.

Middle School and up books (I’m a big fan of the effort the authors but into this reading level to engage kids and teach them):

We loved anything by Laurie Halse Anderson, in particular the Chains-Forge-Ashes trilogy.

And anything by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Elijah of Buxton, and Bud, Not Buddy (all published before my kids stopped listening to audiobooks in the car). I will be checking out several of his other books in the coming year.

I also learned a lot from The Hate U Give and The 57 Bus.

Others

Oprah and Bruce Perry’s What Happened to You? was an influential book for me on trauma. David Goggins’ Never Finished also included methods for dealing with trauma. I am looking forward to Can’t Hurt Me.

Social Justice books on slavery.

Check out The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Juneteenth resources - which includes recipes, audio, a book list, and more.