Very short book with bright illustrations. Each page has a principle and the candle. Introduction, afterward, chart of principles, symbols and key holiday words

I liked this children’s book for a few different reasons. I liked the illustrations all throughout the book. I noticed that in every picture everyone was always smiling, which showed the reader that this holiday is something to be happy about and to celebrate with you’re family. I also liked how realistic the photos look, and the illustrator also made sure to use African colors all throughout the store. For example, their clothing was very authentic looking along with the decorations that they had throughout the house. I also like how the author kept repeating “It’s Kwanzaa time” to introduce a new day of Kwanzaa and what happens on that day. Overall, I think the main idea of this story is to briefly inform the reader about what Kwanzaa is and what it means to this author. ( )

I thought this was a great book for children for a couple of reasons. Before I read this book, I didn't know what Kwanzaa was, and it describes it briefly, but is very informative on the aspects of Kwanzaa. It's about a little boy's first Kwanzaa, and on each page starting from December 26th-Jan1st it shows what he does for Kwanzaa that day. This includes dressing up in African clothing, making African beads, looking at the map and flag, learning about African history, and finally, spending time with family. The overall message is that Kwanzaa is a time for family to share memories and become more informed on the African heritage, while spending time with loved ones. As he learns about all the different aspects of his culture, he gets to spend time with his relatives and really be proud of his culture.
I thought the way the book was set up really helped understand the days and events of Kwanzaa. For example, the first page "December 26th" has one candle lit, the next page "December 27th" has two candles lit, and so on, until the last page "January 1st" where all the candles are lit because it is the last day of Kwanzaa. On the different pages, it describes another tradition of Kwanzaa. On the third page, December 28th, he is learning about the map and flag. On December 30th, he makes African beads with his grandma, and on January 1st, his family shares hugs and presents. The way they set it up made it really easy to learn the different Kwanzaa traditions.
I also thought the pictures helped a lot when picturing the celebration. In the beginning of the book, he and his family put on African clothing, which are depicted in the pictures throughout the book as colorful, bold, exotic clothing. On the page where he is learning about the flag and map, his dad is holding the red, black, and green flag, and his mama is hanging up a map of Africa.The reading was simple, it had one or two sentences on a page, but the pictures further explained the text. The author did a good job showing the different African clothing, jewelry, and beads that they make.
As someone who doesn't know anything about Kwanzaa, I learned a lot from reading this easy-to-read picture book. I think it would be a great book for young children to read and become more familiar with different culture's holidays. In the end, Kwanzaa is about spending time with family and friends who love each other, which is what most holidays entail. This can help children realize that although there are many differences among holidays and celebrations, there are also similarities such as family coming together. ( )

I really enjoyed reading this book because it was informative and easy to read without prior knowledge. For example, On the very first page it explains Kwanzaa is a holiday. Another reason I really enjoyed this book is because it uses short sentences that flow in order. On the bottom right corner of each page there is a picture of Kwanzaa candles that are dated and the events take place in order.
The main idea of this book is to explore family traditions and share about other cultures. ( )

In this book, an unnamed boy talks about various things that his family does to celebrate Kwanzaa. With the constant refrain of "It's Kwanzaa time," he notes something new like lighting candles or unfurling a map of Africa. In this way, the book introduces young readers to various Kwanzaa traditions in a way that is slightly more exciting than a dry nonfiction book.

The downside of this book is I feel like it doesn't do enough to explain the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Each day of Kwanzaa is given a spread with a picture of a kinara in the lower right indicating what principle is relevant that day. But the text itself does not necessarily show the family doing something that embodies that principle. For instance, December 30th is for "nia" ("purpose"), but the text and illustrations show the boy beading necklaces with his mother and grandmother -- an activity that seems better fitted to the following day's principle ("kuumba" = "creativity") in which the story goes on to have other family members come visit.

In an afterword section, the author does explain more about Kwanzaa, the seven principles, and a variety of Swahili words related to the holiday. While this is certainly helpful for further learning, I wish that the story itself had done a better job of illuminating the Kwanzaa traditions - although it did well enough in terms of discussing the holiday with my very young class of toddlers. ( )