Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem

Kincaid Rolle and Bostic’s foray into Juneteenth’s history opens without preamble, centering the enslaved Black residents of Galveston, Tex., as news of freedom arrives via the Emancipation Proclamation: “ALL WHO LIVE IN BONDAGE/ HERE SHALL FROM/ NOW UNTIL/ BE FREE.” Realistic oil illustrations depict portraits and landscapes in the time and place, while sometimes-rhyming text traces individual reactions: “after 300 years of forced bondage,/ hands bound,” some people rest, while others sing and dance, give thanks, and decide whether to stay or go elsewhere. Soon, images transition to show a contemporary America, where children “of the ones who were held.../ celebrate the day their forebears could shout/ ‘FREE AT LAST!’ ” A largely earth-toned color palette distinguishes Bostic’s art, which tenderly portrays brown-skinned characters’ detailed facial expressions across environments and generations. Together, the creators emphasize the value of freedom embodied by the “symbolic holiday.” A contextualizing author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (May)