As in the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture part of the New York Public Library in Harlem. Does the name Schomburg sound familiar? It should. Librarian and book collector Arthur Schomburg once said, “We need a collection or list of books written by our men and women.” So true, so very true. But then I thought, what holidays stories are told for us, by us? The Literary FUBU if you will. Last week I began thinking about traditional Christmas stories like the infamous T’was the Night Before Christmas that many of us have heard as a kid or read to a child as an adult. In recent years, I’ve become partial to The Proud Family’s Christmas/Kwanzaa episode and it is heartwarming in my adult years to see Fat Albert’s Christmas episode.

There are hundreds of cartoons and movies to commemorate the occasion from the iconic A Charlie Brown Christmas to the modern classic A Christmas Story and everything in between. Turn on the radio and you can hear Donny Hathaway croon “This Christmas” as well as Michael Jackson and his brothers let us know that “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” It’s a magical, highly anticipated time of the year. This book is a great source to use when teaching about celebrations around the world, because it is a Holiday celebrated by many Africans and African Americans.It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Around us we see decorations, holiday sales, and traditional holiday food and drink like egg nog and candy canes. The author is also celebrates Kwanzaa, and this gives an insider’s point of view on the Holiday. The lifestyles of the characters are genuine and complex. The illustrations help enhance the story and correspond to the text. The story is interesting and is age-appropriate, children can understand what is being represented.

I would recommend this book for children in grades 1 and higher. In the book, the little book explains the different things his family does on the different days of Kwanzaa. There are seven principles of Kwanzaa, and they revolve around unity and working together. The purpose of Kwanzaa is to celebrate African American harvest and the beliefs and values of traditional African customs. This book describes the different steps that people who celebrate Kwanzaa do.

Kwanzaa by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate