Come Juneteenth (Great Episodes) - Hardcover

For as long as Luli can remember, the Confederate states have been at war with the Union. But the fighting has always been far from the Texas plantation where Luli lives with her pa and ma, her brothers, and her "almost" sister, Ruth, whom everyone calls Sis Goose. Sis Goose was born into slavery, but has been raised as a member of the family. Or so it seems.
When President Lincoln issues his Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery, Luli s family, like hundreds of other Texas slave owners, decides to keep the news a secret. Not even Sis Goose is told that she s free. Then, two years later, one day in June, Union soldiers arrive. And the secret that was so closely guarded threatens to tear the family apart.

Historical novelist Ann Rinaldi paints the story of one family s awakening to the true meaning of freedom and explores the events that led up to the creation of Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom that continues today.