Welcome to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's (CBC) Searchable Best Books List, a tool designed to help educators, families, librarians, and others access developmentally appropriate and engaging books for young readers (ages birth - 18).

Our online Searchable Best Books List draws from the committee's annual Best Children's Books of the Year-beginning with the list of books published in 2000-with each featuring more than 600 high-quality titles for young readers.

To share feedback about the tool, please feel free to email bookcom@bankstreet.edu. To learn more about the CBC, visit https://www.bankstreet.edu/cbc/.

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Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth

Alice Faye Duncan

Illustrator: Keturah A. Bobo

Ages: 6+

Published: 2022

Publisher: Tommy Nelson/Thomas Nelson

ISBN: 978-1-4002-3125-6

Keywords: slavery, emancipation, freedom, Texas history, national holidays, celebrations, Jim Crow

The history of the end of American slavery is told in the voice of Opal Lee, the grandmother of our newest national holiday, Juneteenth. Digital artwork, back matter, sourcing.