SUMMARY: This book is about celebrating Kwanzaa from a young boy's point of view. It is filled with factual information about Kwanzaa. It describes the 7 principles of Kwanzaa, which are unity, self determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith, all while describing the food and dress and atmosphere of celebrating the holiday with a family!

Review: The book uses a lot of factual information about how it is celebrated and even uses African words while describing! For example, "Mama wears a lappa or buba, which is an African dress." Also, "We pass the kikombe cha umoja, or the unity cup. We pour a libation, an offering to the memory of our ancestors."

I really like this book because it gives a great overview of what Kwanzaa is while still attracting readers by using a story-telling format. The first three pages are an introduction to the holiday of Kwanzaa, and the entire rest of the book is presenting information about Kwanzaa in a story as told by a “main character”. I think this would be very effective for elementary school considering the point of view is unique for an informational text. Instead of presenting it textbook style, the author takes on the persona of a young male who celebrates Kwanzaa with his family. The author uses phrases such as “Mama wears … an African dress”, “We decorate our home in the black, red, and green colors of Kwanzaa”, and “Together we prepare a table for the Kwanzaa karamu, or feast,”. Younger readers easily understand this information because they can picture it being done in a family or home setting. Additionally, the illustrations depict the main character as his family performing the traditions stated in the text, which helps the reader visualize the information in a relatable way. Even if the reader does not celebrate the same religion, they can identify with the holiday by thinking about a time they celebrated their own traditions with their family. Another reason I liked this book was because the text included words from the African culture. This gives students a real taste of African culture and new information that will enhance their understanding. On each page, all of the words introduced have a phonetic pronunciation guide, which would help readers pronounce them. The main idea of this story is all about Kwanzaa and how it is celebrated in the present time. ( )