Mazie is ready to celebrate liberty. She is ready to celebrate freedom. She is ready to celebrate a great day in American history. The day her ancestors were no longer slaves. Mazie remembers the struggles and the triumph, as she gets ready to celebrate Juneteenth.
BIO
Award-winning author and illustrator Floyd Cooper was the illustrator of over 90 childrens books. He received the Coretta Scott King Honor Award three times and the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration in 2009 for The Blacker the Berry. From the Land of Milk and Honey was nominated for a 2013 NAACP IMAGE AWARD for literature, and These Hands was awarded the 2012 Sankei Award in Japan for outstanding illustration. Floyd traveled extensively, sharing his talents in schools and conferences across America. He lived in Easton, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Velma, and two sons, Dayton and Kai. Sadly, Floyd passed away in 2021.
REVIEWS
"[Cooper's] full-page artwork—oil paintings in softly textured yellows and browns—captures the tender relationship between a father and daughter and the sadness and pride of their family story. Broad sweeps of history are encapsulated in double-page spreads focusing on determined, prayerful and happy faces. A quiet and informative picture of belated emancipation." -- Kirkus Reviews
"This sweet remembrance teaches about the day, known as Juneteenth, and celebrates freedom through the calm, assured tone and expressive faces of the characters. Somber shades of brown give the book a nostalgic, historical feel while remaining accessible and enjoyable for children today." -- Foreward Magazine
"In his customary gauzy gold-and-brown illustrations, Cooper sandwiches historical images of figures picking cotton, fleeing “north to freedom,” and marching over a bridge, between contemporary scenes of Mazie snuggled up next to her dad, and dancing in a festive parade. . . .Other introductions to Juneteenth are more detailed, but this will give even young readers a glimmer of its significance." -- Booklist
[H] Capstone Young Readers / January 01, 2015
0.4" H x 12.0" L x 8.2" W (1.0 lbs) 40 pages
[P] Picture Window Books / January 01, 2016
0.1" H x 10.8" L x 8.3" W (0.4 lbs) 40 pages