Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
Check out our reading lists and resources and join us for our in-person and virtual programs to learn more about this important day in U.S. history.
All Queens Public Library locations will be closed on Monday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth.
Juneteenth Books: Adult Fiction
Juneteenth Books: Adult Nonfiction
Juneteenth Books: Young Adult Fiction
Juneteenth Books: Young Adult Nonfiction
Juneteenth Books: Children's Fiction
Juneteenth Books: Children's Nonfiction
Juneteenth Programs
Join us for QPL’s Juneteenth programs for all ages, including arts and crafts, concerts, conversations, storytimes, and much more!
Juneteenth Booklists
Adult Fiction
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison
Book | Audiobook
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehesi Coates
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
Book | eBook
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Book | eBook | Audiobook
River, Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Jubilee by Margaret Walker
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Adult Nonfiction
Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore by Francis E. Abernethy, Patrick B. Mullen, and Alan B. Govenar
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Remembering Slavery by Ira Berlin
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration by Edward Cotham
Book | eBook
The War Before the War by Andrew Delbanco
Black Reconstruction in America by W. E. B. Du Bois
Book | eBook
Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction by Eric Foner
Book | eBook
The Second Founding by Eric Foner
Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow
by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Book | eBook | Audiobook
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
Book | eBook | Audiobook
To Raise Up a Nation by William S. King
Book | eBook
American Inheritance by Edward J. Larson
Book | eBook
The Failed Promise by Robert S. Levine
Book | eBook
Black Ghost of Empire by Kris Manjapra
Book | eBook
All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
Book | eBook | Audiobook
The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines
Book | eBook | Audiobook
How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Lest We Forget by Velma Maia Thomas
Book | eBook
Young Adult Fiction
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
by M. T. Anderson
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tonya Bolden
Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden
Book | eBook
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
Dream Country by Shannon Gibney
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Riot by Walter Dean Myers
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Come Juneteenth by Ann Rinaldi
Book | eBook
A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Young Adult Nonfiction
Passenger on the Pearl by Winifred Conkling
Book | eBook
In The Shadow of Liberty by Kenneth C. Davis
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Unequal: A Story of America by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau
Book | eBook | Audiobook
This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
Book | eBook
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Children's Fiction
Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens and Monica Mikai
Book | eBook
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad
by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Annie and Juneteenth by Aletta Seales and Artkina Celestin
Juneteenth Jamboree by Carole Boston Weatherford and Yvonne Buchanan
Book | eBook
Children's Nonfiction
Juneteenth by R.J. Bailey
Book | eBook
Juneteenth: Freedom Day by Muriel Miller Branch and Willis Branch
The American Civil War in Texas by Johanna Burke
Let's Celebrate Emancipation Day & Juneteenth by Barbara deRubertis
Book | eBook
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan and Keturah A. Bobo
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Hidden Black History: From Juneteenth to Redlining by Amanda Jackson Green
Book | eBook
What Is Juneteenth? by Kirsti Jewel
Book | eBook | Audiobook
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson and E.B. Lewis
Traditional African American Arts & Activities by Sonya Kimble-Ellis
Juneteenth by Julie Murray
Book | eBook
Juneteenth by Lynn Peppas
Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Book | eBook | Audiobook
African-American Holidays by Faith Winchester
Juneteenth (Racial Justice in America: Histories) by Kevin P. Winn and Kelisa Wing
Book | eBook
Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom by Sharon Dennis Wyeth and Kim Holt
Book | eBook | Audiobook
Juneteenth Resources
Learn About Juneteenth (Virtual Brochure from QPL, Langston Hughes Library, and Queens Memory)
Juneteenth - All About the Holidays (PBS Kids Video)
What Is Juneteenth? (HISTORY)
Celebrating Juneteenth, the Day Slavery Ended (The New York Times)
What is Juneteenth? (CBS News)
Juneteenth: The History of a New Holiday (The New York Times)
The History Of Juneteenth (NPR Fresh Air)
Special Series: Juneteenth (NPR)
DIY Confetti Poppers for Juneteenth (Crafting a Fun Life)
4 Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth with Your Kids 2022 (Indy's Child Magazine)
5 Juneteenth Celebration Ideas for the Entire Family (Verywell Family)
Great Ideas for Celebrating Juneteenth (HGTV)
Here are 50 Quotes to Better Understand Juneteenth (Parade Magazine)
How to Celebrate Juneteenth This Year (PureWow)
Juneteenth Printables (Primary Treasure Chest Resources)
25 Ideas to Help You Celebrate Juneteenth (The Cubicle Chick by Danyelle Little)
Ways Your Family Can Celebrate and Find Joy Together on Juneteenth (PopSugar Family)
