This book is about Kwanzaa which was created in the U.S. and pays homage to African ancestors. The author describes the meaning, aspects, and traditions of those who celebrate this holiday. I was able to learn a plethora of things I had not known about Kwanzaa from this children's book. ( )

I really liked this book for multiple reasons. This is a book that describes the origins and practices of Kwanzaa, the seven-day festival during which people of African descent rejoice in their ancestral values. The first thing I liked bout the book was the descriptive language. The language was descriptive enough but not too detailed to which young readers could follow along and know what the text was saying. The second thing that I liked was the characters of the book. The characters of the book were depicted by African American boys and I think that's significant because the holiday of Kwanzaa is celebrated by people from African decent. The third and final part of this book that I really liked was the informational plot. The plot centers around describing and detailed all that goes into the holiday known as Kwanzaa. I think it's a great way for children to learn about this special holiday and all that in tales. ( )

An overview of the importance and heritage of Kwanzaa

Summary: In this book it explains the heritage of celebrating Kwanzaa. It opens up with a great description explaining were Kwanzaa inherited from. Then the book goes on to talk about what each seven days of Kwanzaa means, each day brings a different meaning. The first day means to celebrate unity. The second day means to learn traditions that help you define yourself and family. The third day is to celebrate collective work and responsibility, which is doing some type of chore or working together to build something and make it better than what it was before. The fourth day is celebrating cooperative economics, which is teaching the family and kids how to save money and use it wisely. The fifth day is celebrating purpose. The sixth day is creativity. The seventh day means faith.

Personal Reaction: What I have just learned from this book is that Kwanzaa is not just something that people celebrate it has a meaning and a purpose to why they do it. It shows the true roots of your heritage and what your ancestors did and how they did it. This book just gives a great meaning to how people celebrate their heritages in different ways.

Classroom Extinctions: 1.) I would make the class write down something that their family celebrates every year.
2.) I would have them tell the class what makes this celebration so important to their family and why they do it.

SUMMARY: This book is an informational text that describes Kwanzaa, the history, the traditions celebrated now, and the importance of it to the African American culture.

REVIEW: This book's central message was to inform about the tradition of Kwanzaa. The book had African words with translations, which I believe made the information feel more authentic. I felt as the reader that someone of that culture was telling me a story in their own language.