Jayylen's Juneteenth Surprise

This inspiring Little Golden Book tells the story of one young boy's first experience celebrating Juneteenth.

When Jayylen's grandfather, Paw Paw Jimmy, begins preparing for a big Juneteenth celebration, Jayylen has a lot of questions. Most importantly, what is Juneteenth? His mother and Paw Paw Jimmy explain that the holiday marks the anniversary of when enslaved African Americans found out that they were free. Paw Paw Jimmy plays some zydeco for him, which is the type of music they will dance to at the celebration. Jayylen practices every day so that he will be able to play the frottoir (a percussion instrument similar to a washboard) for everyone. But will he be able to pull off an even bigger surprise for the day?

Lavaille Lavette is a New York Times bestselling author and editor, social entrepreneur, educator, and leadership and business development expert. A former teacher and school district administrator, Lavaille served as special advisor to the US secretary of education Dr. Rod Paige. She is a founding board member and the first president of the Luanda Africa Sister City Association, and currently, she serves on the board of advisers for Huvr Inc. and BreakOut App. She has used her branding, merchandising, and sales expertise to manage a number of business ventures with well-known celebrities and athletes in the publishing, aviation, food, retail, and sports industries. In her leisure time, she enjoys skateboarding, supporting various charitable ventures, and spending time with her husband, John, family, and friends.

David Wilkerson is an American illustrator born in Denver, CO, and currently based in Maryland. He believes there is healing in storytelling and that it is the job of creatives to contribute to that cause. His career began in the animation industry, working as a character designer, prop designer, and background designer. He’s worked as a designer on various projects for clients such as Hulu, Cartoon Network, Springhill Company, FOX Sports, and FUSE. David developed a love for illustration during his time at the Savannah College of Art and Design. In addition to music, he was heavily influenced by illustrators like Ronald Wimberly, Justin Bua, Joe Madureira, Kevin Dart, Gyimah Gariba, and Scott Wills. David believes that creation itself is what we live in, and he’s spent the last twenty-plus years creating the most authentic version of himself as possible.