Don't Call Me Grandma by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves only in the Confederate states.' (I would add that the 13th Amendment has an exception for people who have been convicted of a crime - thanks, Ava - and I think one could include mention of that in the backmatter in a child-appropriate way, about how there is still work to be done.) The next section is called 'Freedom' and starts with the Emancipation Proclamation, and I appreciated that it stated that, 'It said that slaves in the Confederate States were 'forever free.' ' The backmatter includes some more information about the different dates that people have suggested for celebrating the end of slavery, for example the date the Emancipation Proclamation was signed (January 1, 1863) or the date the 13th Amendment became law (December 18, 1865), and of the latter it notes: This amendment ended slavery in all of the states. The next section is about the Civil War - 'Many people in the North and some in the South wanted to free the slaves.' Understandably, as it's a children's book, it doesn't go into the complicated economic and political issues that were tied in with this and presents the Civil War as being fought simply over slavery, with one side wanting slavery to continue for economic reasons and the other side wanting it to end for moral reasons. The owners could keep more money if they did not have to pay the people who worked for them. Plantation owners sold these crops to make money. Many Southerners needed people to work on their plantations.' and the text goes on to explain that, 'Plantations were huge farms. It starts with the Jubilee announcement and then the next section backtracks to 'But how did black people become slaves?' and I appreciated that it didn't absolve the North - We read: 'Why did Americans want slaves? Some people in the North wanted housekeepers and farmhands. This is a solid, child-appropriate, overview of Juneteenth. Important message, finally freed as well.

Freedom finally wrested from the SonsofaNutcracker that kept the secret of that Freedom as long as they possibly could. But the older the grandkid, the more their beautiful eyebrows knit together as we read the darker reasons for the absolute joys celebrated on Juneteenth. I've noticed as I read, my kiddos are less driven by the same guilt motivations I have been when reading these books that I believe have (and are part of my reason for choosing), to varying degrees, elements of reconciliation/revelation to our own past, history and carefully cultured ignorance.

Read during the season of Juneteenth, we chose this read to educate ourselves on the what and why of this holiday - we don't live in the region from which it sprang, and so were eager to get some facts and details about it, and read a number of books on the topic this June.

Don't Call Me Grandma by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson