1 comments about My First Kwanza Book.

1. It was About Kwanzaa. The Seven candles and the kinara, mishumaa saba, and lots of cool stuff. I celebrate Kwanzaa every year.

1 comments about It's Kwanzaa Time!.

1. Great book for beginners or on going Kwanzaa observers. Informative and clear on the seven principal days, symbols, recipes and sewing instructions to make your own African outfits. An valuable and creative resource book. A perfect storyteller resource book as well.

1 comments about Seven Candles for Kwanzaa.

1. Seven Candles for Kwanzaa is a change from the original Cristams story. This Kwanzaa loving picture book is by Andrea Davis Pinkney. And the stunning pictures are by Brian Pinkney. This book is about you guessed it Kwanzaa. Seven Candles for Kwanzaa tells you everything from the traditions of Kwanzaa to the candles. The colorful illustratins help show what each of the candles specifically stands for and what is done on the days as they are one by one lit on the Kinara. Seven Candles for Kwanzaa gives any one who os not to sure what goes on during the Kwanzaa holiday a very in depth description of what goes on.
   I would think twice before spending your hard earned money on this book. In my opinion Seven Candles for Kwanzaa was about 5 pages too long. I would make sure you are really into Kwanzaa before you get this book. And if you are this is the book for you. No mater what you celebrate, it is good to be familiar what other cultures do.

2 comments about Messy Bessey's Holidays (Rookie Readers).

1. Short stories with good color illustrations. Pictures are fair - easy to read, with good informantion in the 5 to 8 year old age group. Short 1 character settings around Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and New Years. I would recommend this one to K through the 2nd grade levels



2. Maybe it's the cookie aspect, but my son (just turned 5) really likes this Rookie Reader book. The story, as you can gather from the title, is about Messy Bessey and the Holidays. It involves making cookies for her friends and neighbors and this time the mess she makes is in the kitchen.
   
   The book touches briefly on the holidays of Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. To that end, Bessey and her mom make cookies in different shapes which they then share out. An example of text follows.
   
   Menorahs, candles, fruits, and bells
   are signs of the holidays.
   
   All over, people celebrated
   in many different ways.
   
   Christmas,
   Kwanzaa,
   and Chanukah,
   no matter what the reason,
   here's a gift from Bess to you
   to celebrate the season.
   
   The book then ends with a recipe for sugar cookies. [My son likes the book so much he makes me read the recipe. Go figure--lol]
   
   Four Stars. Can't beat a Primer that promotes cleaning up after oneself. This Messy Bessey is about the winter time holidays. The vocabulary is rather harder in this book than other Bessey's because of the holiday words themselves and it is listed as 2.3 on the Accelerated Reading scale. Or in other words, this book is suitable for a child reading at the [...]level. Harder words include: community, celebrate, hillside, shepherds, wonderful, and working. 123 different words.
   
   ~review by Pam T.~

No comments about Celebra Kwanzaa con Botitas y sus gatitos / Celebrate Kwanzaa with Boots and Her Kittens (Cuentos Para Celebrar / Stories to Celebrate).

2 comments about Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story.

1. A great book to share and explain Kwanzaa values. I am participating in a library program and this tales of selfishness and unity from an African folklore is a wonderful way to explain the principle of Umoja. The illustrations are beautiful with rich and bold color. This is a story I will never forget.



2. A friend shared this book with me when we were in a discussion of Africa's Kente cloth, woven with bright colors in narrow strips and then sewed into wider fabric. Seven Spools... is a delightful tale well told and beautifully illustrated. The moral lesson of cooperation is clearly shown. I have ordered it to be a great addition to my group of African books for children and adults.

1 comments about My First Kwanzaa.

1. I am a pre-kindergarten teacher and I struggled to find an age apropriate book to explan Kwanzaa to the children in my classroom. This one was great! The children LOVED it and could relate to what was going on throughout the book. I recommend this book to anyone learning about Kwanzaa for the first time. It is a simple and enjoyable read! Also, K is For Kwanzaa is a good book to show the children the items used to celebrate Kwanzaa in a clear and simple manner.

No comments about Between Father and Son: An African-American Fable.

No comments about Kwanzaa (Rookie Read-About Holidays).

4 comments about A Blue's Clues Holiday (Blue's Clues (8x8)).

1. My kids love this book. It has activities that are simple and fun for small kids to do. The cookies that the kids made even came out well. Even if you don't do the activities, the book is just sweet and cute and teaches the kids about the different holidays that are celebrated in winter.



2. My son (nearly 3) loves this book, and we have been reading it long past the holiday season. He probably loves it because it has all of his favorite Blues Clues characters. I like it because it equally recognizes all of the winter holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa)and discusses activities that are appropriate for all three--making cookies, paper snowflakes, etc. This book is sweet, appealing, and sensitive to that fact that there are many holiday traditions, and for that we give it five stars!



3. The book is fine from a fun prospective but as a Christian I was irritated that Christmas was represented as a celebration of birth rather than the celebration of the birth of Jesus. If I had realized this before I bought it, it never would have come home with us. This might not be a great concern to other parents, but I believe this is not reprsenting the true meaning of these holidays. I do understand that the children might be too young for long explaniations but the holidays could have been explained with a little more detail.



4. "A Blue's Clues Holiday" is a classic "Blue's Clues" book (featuring Steve) loaded with fun holiday ideas. Like most earlier "Blue's Clues" books, Steve is inserted into the illustrated story using photography.
   
   The book starts out with everyone in the Blue's Clues house making holiday decorations. There's paper chains, paper snowflakes and even a bubble snowman from Slippery. There's also Mr. Salt and Mrs. Peppers' delicious recipe for snowball cookies.
   
   We also visit each of Blue's to give them a holiday present. We see how they all celebrate the holidays.
   
   This book mentions a number of different holidays and some may consider it to be somewhat "politically correct." But really, it's true to the TV series and fans of the show will likely enjoy this book.