My First Kwanzaa by Karen Katz

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My First Kwanzaa was written by Karen Katz. She has written and illustrated many books for children, including The Colors of Us, Can You Say Peace, My First Ramadan, Counting Kisses and Where is Baby's Belly Button. Long inspired by folk art from around the world, she was inspired to write her first book, Over the Moon, when she and her husband adopted their daughter from Guatemala, and she wanted to tell the story of welcoming Lena into their lives. Katz loves to paint and experiment with texture, color, collage, and pattern. Besides an author and illustrator, she has been a costume designer, quilt maker, fabric artist and graphic designer. Katz and her family divide their time between New York City and Saugerties, New York.[1]

Summary

"Hooray! Hooray!

It's time to get ready for Kwanzaa."

A little girl is excited and can not wait for Kwanzaa's time. During the seven days of Kwanzaa we celebrate the importance of family, friends, and community. This warm and lively introduction to a very special holiday will help even the youngest children join in! An author and illustrator Karen Katz kicks off a wonderful new series of picture books for the very young with My First Kwanzaa. The series will offer a simple and fun way to get familiar with the traditions of holiday celebrations from different cultures.[2]

Pros

An account named Destiny gave her thoughtful sights about this book, she said this book is about a little girl's first Kwanzaa. Throughout the book she describes what her family does on each day of Kwanzaa. This book would be very interesting for kids. It allows children to learn more about Kwanzaa, while telling a fun story. This book also allows children to think about how everyone celebrates holidays differently. It gives children an insight into what Kwanzaa means to African people. There is no type of plot in this book, it's more of an informative story about Kwanzaa. The characters in this book represent the African culture. Nothing in this book is negative, it's a positive representation of Africans. The characters did use speech that represented their culture in the book. Throughout the book, there were African terms used. The author gave a definition to each word, so that reader could follow along with the story. Overall this book shows the diverse culture of the people who celebrate Kwanzaa. [1]

Follow along as a little girl celebrates her very first Kwanzaa and learns about the traditions associated with the holiday. As each of the seven days goes by, she learns about the Seven Principles including the importance of unity, community, helping others, and family. On the very last day, it’s finally time for a celebration including music, dancing, and a feast of delicious African food. A very basic introduction to the African-American cultural holiday, Kwanzaa, and the Seven Principles. This book is ideal for little ones in PreK – K and useful for teachers. [3]

With colorful collage and mixed-media illustrations alongside brief, yet informative text, Katz’s latest offers youngsters an engaging introduction to the African-American holiday. The story is a solid, sweet, and meaty choice for holiday reading explained Kirkus on their site. [4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 My First Kwanzaa. Retrieved January 28th, 2021
  2. My First Kwanzaa. amazon.com. Retrieved January 28th, 2021
  3. Herron, Nana. A. Book Review: 'My First Kwanzaa' by Karen Katz. Retrieved January 28th, 2021
  4. My First Kwanzaa. kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved January 28th, 2021