This month’s Author Spotlight is Kortney Nash, author of Tell Me About Juneteenth, an empowering picture book that celebrates Juneteenth!
Tell Me About Juneteenth follows a young girl on a mission to find out more about the history of Juneteenth. What was the inspiration for this approach to writing a book about Juneteenth?
Kortney Nash: I have to give a lot of credit to the editor for this book, Dana Chidiac, for how the story found its structure. The first draft of the story was about one community’s Juneteenth celebration and the sights and sounds that accompanied that, but Dana’s suggestion to weave in past celebrations adds a layer of uniqueness to the text that I appreciate. It also encouraged me to learn more about how other communities celebrate Juneteenth since I’d never experienced anything beyond what we did in LA. It was a lot of fun both doing online research and talking to my older family members to figure out what type of celebrations we wanted to have for each time period of this story.
We love the line from the book that shares “Juneteenth is a lot of celebrating, but it’s also a lot of remembering.” How did you settle on the right balance of celebration and memory within the text?
Kortney Nash: I knew from the outset that I wanted this book to be led by the celebratory aspect, and I think the themes about memory found their way into the text naturally while writing. Like many holidays, what’s most special about Juneteenth (to me) is that it’s an opportunity to spend time with friends and family and share good food and good music. To that end, however, it would’ve done the story a disservice to not acknowledge that the history behind this celebration is steeped in injustice. Growing up, I’ve watched my community (and, more broadly, the Black community in this country) practice a resilience that I find very profound. There are a lot of reasons for Juneteenth to be observed as a somber day––and for anyone is doing so, I think that’s incredibly justified––however I also think it’s powerful to take this day and use it to cultivate joy. It’s such a beautiful form of resistance, and I tried to capture that balance in the text.
Can you elaborate on your research process for the book and explain how you decided which historical details to include, both within the text and in the backmatter?
Kortney Nash: Before writing the book, I had a broad strokes idea of the history behind Juneteenth from what I’d learned during my childhood. For the book, we knew we wanted to explore distinct Juneteenth celebrations during different time periods before arriving at the first ever Juneteenth, so the first step of the research was honestly doing the math to figure out what year each celebration we explored would take place! After that, it was a lot of fun learning about real Juneteenth celebrations that happened during those time periods and including them in the story––I spent plenty of time looking at archival images and articles from local papers across the country that chronicled past Juneteenth celebrations to figure out what details we could utilize in this story. Since the narrative doesn’t dive too deeply into the finer nuances of Juneteenth’s establishment, it was great to have the opportunity to include more historical context within the backmatter. I hope that the backmatter provides straightforward, foundational knowledge for anyone who reads the book, and paves the way for them to learn more about the holiday independently if they choose to.
Let’s talk about the art. DeAndra Hodge is so talented! Do you have a favorite spread?
Kortney Nash: There’s so much to love about DeAndra’s art––the vibrant colors, beautiful community, and joy that leaps off the page all make this book extra special to me. A few people have asked me to choose a favorite spread, and to be honest I choose something different every time because this just feels like a question that truly has no wrong answer! A spread that really stood out to me recently is the final illustration in the story, where we see the main character sitting on the steps and thinking about future Juneteenth celebrations. There’s just something really endearing and hopeful about that final image that I absolutely adore.
Can you tell us about a librarian or educator who has had a significant impact on your life?
Kortney Nash: I’ve been very fortunate to have had many teachers and librarians throughout my life who have impacted me positively––it’s hard to choose just one to shout out! However, I’ve gotta go with my Pre-K teacher, Tiffany Wright, who has played an instrumental role in my life and has been a longtime mentor for me. Ms. Wright’s patience, generosity, and wisdom has informed the way I treat others and gave me a roadmap for the type of values I wanted to embody as an adult. She’s someone who’s gone above and beyond, from teaching me how to count to teaching me how to use a sewing machine—she’s become a family member over the years and I’m so thankful to have her in my life. It’s been a really special experience to get to share this book with Ms. Wright because this woman taught me my ABCs! So, it feels full circle to be able to show her what I was able to create with the skills she ultimately gave me way back when.
What was your favorite book when you were a young reader?
Kortney Nash: I was an avid reader, so this is another difficult question to answer! I used to fly through Junie B. Jones books, Katie Kazoo Switcheroo, Magic Treehouse—anything I could get my hands on. Once I got the hang of reading you couldn’t keep me out of the library, which is still largely true. If I had to choose some books that really kicked off my reading journey I’d probably have to go with the classic Frog and Toad stories. My first-grade teacher used to read them to us a couple times a week and it’s still a pretty vivid memory for me, sitting on the rug with everyone after lunchtime and craning my neck to look at all the illustrations. Lots of nostalgia!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kortney Nash is from Los Angeles and has celebrated many Juneteenths in Leimert Park. Tell Me About Juneteenth is her first picture book. When not writing, she can be found cross stitching or trying out new recipes in the kitchen. Connect with her on Twitter.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Tell Me About Juneteenth by Kortney Nash; illustrated by DeAndra Hodge
Ages 4-8
Celebrate Juneteenth with this empowering picture book!
On June 19th, 1865, the last enslaved African Americans were finally freed in Galveston, Texas. Every year, our community comes together to honor this special day. We play hopscotch, eat spice cake, and listen to music, but what about the first Juneteenth?
As family and friends recount their memories and stories of Juneteenths past, a young girl learns about the holiday’s longstanding history and traditions.
Filled with bright art, accessible language, and informational back matter, this educational book joyfully welcomes readers to the block party!
