Juwanda G. Ford

A beautiful story about Kenya and her grandmother. I loved the relationship between the two. Grandmother instills pride in Kenya, and a love of tradition. Kenya makes her family proud by passing on the stories and presenting tradition to her classmates.

"Kwanzaa is Kayla’s favorite time of year. But this year, it looks as if a heavy snowstorm will keep her big brother, Khari, from getting home in time for the festivities! Will Khari miss the celebration completely? Or will Kayla and her brother somehow find a way to be together for Kwanzaa? A perfect introduction to Kwanzaa, this book will teach children all about the traditions and practices that make it a special winter holiday." www.amazon.com

00010964

This picture book uses the frame of a little girl waiting on her college-age brother to come home (he's stuck in a snowstorm) to illustrate the principles of Kwanzaa. It does a good job of introducing those principles and what they mean (and includes a pronunciation guide for the Swahili words, which is great). It is very focused on the information rather than the story, but as such is probably a good way of introducing and/or discussing Kwanzaa with slightly older kids.