SO MANY YEARS: A Juneteenth Story

No, it's not the brutal midwest snow that has me sharing a JUNETEENTH picture book on February first. And it's not (only) due to this being the first day of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, a recognition of our full history as colonies and, eventually, as a nation, as steeped in Black history as it is in any-and-all verifiable facts. (If you are new to this blog, you can read my thoughts on theme months in a very early post, HERE. In fact, with current efforts to suppress aspects of our country's history that do not comport with a white-only perspective, I am now advocating for robust monthly themes that are sustained throughout the calendar and academic year.)

CLARION BOOKS, 2025

SO MANY YEARS: A Juneteenth Story features words by Anne Wynter and illustrations by Jerome Pumphrey. It was this week's ALA awards ceremony that prompted me to bump this one forward on my schedule. No, it did not snag one of those shiny medals, although its many starred and rave reviews had led me to hope it would.  

In fact, I was rooting for the Caldecott category, which celebrates picture books that superbly execute the role of those various and sundry pages of pictures, i.e....

... that illustrations are not "matching:" the words but should be doing heavy lifting in storytelling, mood and tone-setting, in clarifying background and essential information, and in illuminating words that are necessarily minimal so that they shine and shimmer in our hearts.

it remains to be seen if Juneteenth, having finally achieved status as a national holiday, will continue as such under the current government trends. It should. It does, in fact, recognize that post-Civil-War government emancipation news was suppressed for two years or more in Texas. 

The text of this glorious book is, as mentioned above, minimal, although back matter and supplementary text are provided. The brief lyrical phrases adopt a Q&A approach, putting readers into the mindset of those who would receive such news, eventually, and recognize a need for, and right, to celebrate. And yet, 

"How would you dress

after so many years

of mending your clothes with rags"

At midpoint, the questions are simply answered with "Oh, how you would dress..." and eat and sing and otherwise embrace the reality you always knew to be true-- that you were human, not property, that right was right, and that all this was finally recognized as truth.

It's text like this that astounds me and puzzles me as a writer. Each word is precisely, exactly, upliftingly the exact choice, phrasing, and pacing to suit such a profound account. It opens minds to actual and difficult history for those whose heritage lies on either side of the injustices revealed. It carries readers of any background into the depth of joy and relief that freedom provided. The puzzle I experience has to do with how many (or few) art notes were included in the text-only submission. Just to say, there are countless collaborations among the editor, illustrator, and art director, occasionally including the author, during the process of developing and producing a picture book. But in this case the end result feels as if a single entity accomplished everything. The vibrantly sunny endpapers confirm immediately that this is a  joyful tale, and the framing of the history prior to/after the Juneteenth announcement is developed brilliantly. 

Let it be said the illustrator Jerome Pumphrey is half of the acclaimed PUMPHREY brothers creative team whose work has received awards in the past and will continue to do so (I confidently assert). Some have been reviewed HERE, and HERE. In the first half, facing pages illustrate the questions posed by presenting dramatically black-toned reflections of painful enslavement history while the images on the right are saturated, light-infused scenes of family celebrations and satisfying feasts. The stylized historic scenes reveal reality, harsh truths, while allowing the freedom-story contrasts and ensuing scenes provide faces, gfigures, features, fashions, and fun that humans (once free) can experience and convey. 

I adore this book and hope that you will seek it out and consider the images and text. Carefully. With care. Fully. It is a worthy and entertaining and uplifting book that shares history in a creative, lyrical way. No doubt I'll link back to it in future posts for the coming Juneteenth Day.  Please, though, consider it several times through and discuss it with young people. bring nut the reality that a government can attempt to do good but meet resistance. Just as governments can operate outside the law,mor impose illegitimate laws ands rules, but be met with resistance. Share it and discuss it with kids growing up in our media-saturated world, kids who are bombarded with horrific images and words, kids who wonder if our country is falling apart. That means all kids. It matters that they hear about ways in which our country has fractured and attacked itself in the past, that healing is possible, that the timing is rarely what we would wish, and that individual people play a role. 

And seize this BLACK HISTORY MONTH to put ALL stories of history into the hands and hearts of ALL young people, including those of any background. Everyone can feel empathy, none need to feel personally guilty, but ALL can feel responsible for building a better present and future.

Please.

Collaboration, Construction, and Storytelling: Meet the Pumphrey Brothers.

 I suspend my general concern about THEME MONTHS and special focus days when it comes to EARTH DAY and EARTH WEEK. The timing of these events is a natural outgrowth of Spring renewal, spring cleaning, and access to the outdoors (in the northern hemisphere). My goal is to post some reviews and reflections related to this theme every day this week, because care for our planet MUST be a multi-generational effort. Picture books can bridge those generations to inspire and energize, but also to develop lifetime bonds in memory and commitment to environmental care and activism. 

Two brothers have produced two books (among their others) that celebrate the power of youthful experiences to shape a lifetime of interest and engagement with the everyday world. Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey share a website that offers background stories about their separate lives and their remarkable collaborative careers as artists, illustrators, and storytellers. Their family bond is apparent on their website, and the celebrate this powerful human force in the two books featured here. Both reflect their rural and seacoast childhood lives in Texas, learning and growing and graced by parents and grandparents with whom they spent time and absorbed both skills and values. 

Norton Books for Young Readers, 2020

The first book that caught my attention is THE OLD TRUCK, created in story and art through the shared responsibilities, memories,  and imaginations of both Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey. The incredible (and award-winning) art is achieved with a stamp technique that they demonstrate in a video  on their website.

The use of stamps is as artful as the language, with nuanced variations in pattern and repetition that allow each image and stage of life to echo what has come before but also appear fresh and original until the final turn.

I picked this book up before hearing about it, based on the appeal of the images and concept. The title led me to assume it would be a twist on "This old man...", but instead I found nearly countless elements that make it one of my favorites of the picture books I read this year

The text is as seemingly simple and purposeful as the workings of that "old truck" in the title. What appears to be an African American farm family (dad, mom, little girl) rely on that old truck as they work their way through days, seasons, and years. Within a few page turns that little girl becomes the visual anchor of the evolving "farmer" story. She grows in competence and power, while the poor old truck is retired to the side of the barn. Her growth in skill and strength continue as the truck is eventually overwhelmed by plants and snow. 

When she (now the farmer) tows it  onto center stage, her text and visual story mirror the life of the truck during a patient restoration, including the continuation of family life on the farm.

I adore the book design, image placements, and use of a stamps which produce white-edged framing for each graphic/geometric element. It perfectly suits the simplicity of comforting and memorable images within the double page spreads. Equally, I adore the rhythm of the text, including perfectly timed repetitions/variations of phrasing, developing a read aloud text that hums along like a well-tuned engine. 

This will certainly have fans among boys, girls, families, farmers, and anyone who appreciates extraordinary talent in creating picture books. 

At that time I hoped that these two brothers would  create many more books of this calibre in the future. That reliable little truck feels like a symbol for the motor driving this author/illustration team. 

Norton Books for Young Readers, 2021

Within a remarkably short period of time, the Pumphrey brothers produced a companion title, THE OLD BOAT.  In this story the brothers reprise many of the irresistible elements from the first title, but with effective and enchanting twists. The trim size, subdued tones, and flat finishes lend an authentic vintage look. A stamp technique is again used, but in this case the stamps are created exclusively from plastics objects removed from water and coastal clean-ups. The brothers provide another fascinating video of how that was done, HERE.

The story is also multi-generational, with understated family love, joy, and a heritage of shared experiences over time. If you check out the creators' website links above (and I hope you will), you'll be smiling at the self-portraits suggested within the characters of this book. 

This, too, is a reclaiming story, one that moves beyond a single family to the community. The reflection of minimal, lyrical language from the first pages to the turn-of-fate pages take readers into the realm of responsibility for the damage done to the Earth by each and all of us. 

BOTH are excellent choices to read and share during EARTH WEEK and beyond. BOTH explore the ways heartfelt family experiences can grow responsible citizens and residents of this planet. And BOTH celebrate the danger of viewing our material world as disposable, and the VALUE of recovering and restoring our resources. 

Don't miss out on the books, the brothers, and the opportunities to make changes in your environmental arms-length outreach and also to raise a generation of NEW planetary residents. Let them see in you, in word, deed, and shared books,  the glory of responsible residence on Earth.

I read both books (multiple times) as library copies. If you read this post before April 24, you may want to register for a FREE webinar session that will feature brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey in conversation with picture book creator-brothers Peter and Paul Reynolds. The link to register is HERE.

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