The New Jersey Children’s Writer’s Guild

Member Sandra Koehler Lee reviews terrific children’s books for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

December is a month full of holidays. The sparkling lights and inflatable Santas are reminders of Christmas but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa also are observed this month. Books are a great way to introduce the traditions of these holidays whether you regularly celebrate or just want to teach your children about other customs.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah Moon by Deborah Da Costa is an imaginative re-telling of this holiday with the usual elements of Hanukkah but with a Latin American twist. When Isobel visits her Aunt Luisa, she is greeted with a sign saying “Feliz Januca” and instead of a dreidel top, the dreidel is a piñata. They sing the “dreidel song” in English and in Spanish, deftly melding the two cultures during this holiday. Aunt Luisa also shares with Isobel how she celebrates Rosh Hodesh, the time of the new month. A preschooler who is not fidgety will enjoy the narrative and colorful artwork but an older child will better understand the various nuances introduced by Da Costa.

Light the Candles: A Hanukkah Lift-the-Flap Book by Joan Holub portrays a family as they light each candle for the eight days of Hanukkah. Each page has a flap for the child to see more so it’s not like the typical lift-the-flap book that has several flaps per page. This book is wonderful for a very young child or people unfamiliar with the holiday.

Eight Candles to Light, A Chanukah Story by Jonny Zucker is perfect for those who celebrate Hanukkah as well as those who might not know much about the holiday. Like Holub’s book, it shows a family’s customs including spinning the dreidel, lighting the menorah and eating potato cakes (or latkes). A nice bonus is a section in the back outlining the origin of Hanukkah and the meaning behind its traditions. The text of the story makes it most appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers but younger school-age children will enjoy this introduction to the holiday.

Christmas

Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson is a similar format to her Bear Snores On book, except in this case the bear stays up with his wildlife friends to prepare for the holiday. It is a beautifully illustrated, rhyming tale about a bear – who should be hibernating – who decorates the tree and makes presents when the other animals fall asleep.

Another unique portrayal of Christmas customs is Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner. The reader follows a snowman (no not Frosty) as he and other snow people celebrate the holiday in the wee hours of the night. There are even adorable pictures of a snow Santa and his snow reindeer that will delight children and adults alike.

A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe is about a tall, old tree that is sad because he’s never been chosen to become someone’s Christmas tree. The woodland creatures in this rhyming tale show him that not only can he become a wonderful holiday tree, he is a very special tree to them every day of the year. This is a very nice story about friendship for children of any age and goes beyond being merely a “Christmas” book.

If you want to share the holiday tradition with classic characters such as Frosty the Snowman, Peanuts and Curious George there are some good books. Merry Christmas Curious George is the typical format where George gets into trouble, but getting lost this time cheers up children in the hospital at Christmas. It is a heartwarming story for nearly any age although it’s probably too long for infants or squirmy toddlers.

For the Peanuts aficionados, there are two nice choices. The Joy of a Peanuts Christmas is a collection of the Peanuts comic strip over 50 years for the older child or teen. A Charlie Brown Christmas is basically the same storyline as the TV show where the gang learns the true meaning of the holiday amidst the commercialism. All the Frosty and Rudolph books I found also followed the TV shows or simply had the lyrics of the songs; they offer a nice alternative to watching the television but they’re not anything new.

If you’re among those families that celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, you should read Light the Lights! by Margaret Moorman. In the story, Emma helps her father take out the menorah and each night he says, “Let’s light the lights!” The family celebrates Hanukkah with chocolate gold coins, potato latkes and playing with dreidels. Then a few days later, Emma helps her mother decorate the Christmas tree and she says “Let’s light the lights!” before they plug in the tree’s electric lights. This is a nice story commemorating both traditions that young children will enjoy.

Kwanzaa

Finding Kwanzaa books that are entertaining, educational and well-written does take experimentation. What was a little disappointing to me was that most of the ones I read with my daughter really didn’t have a story, they were simply a snapshot of a family’s customs. The good news is that we discovered some books that taught us both about Kwanzaa and that my daughter wanted to hear again.

Seven Spools of Thread, A Kwanzaa Story is a gem for anyone to read. Author Angela Shelf Medearis goes beyond a narrative about Kwanzaa to relate the importance of working together and caring for others. The back of the book offers instructions on how children can weave their own brightly colored belts to honor the holiday.

My First Kwanzaa by Karen Katz is a colorfully illustrated book about how one family celebrates each December. There are descriptions of each day of the 7-day holiday; each day has a title with the meaning and a pronunciation guide, giving readers a nice overview of what makes each day special. For example, the first day of Kwanzaa is Umoja (oo-MOH-ja), which means unity.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Kwanzaa, a Jump at the Sun Holiday Classic illustrated by Rex Perry, will remind some of the song It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas but the only similarities between the two are that they both rhyme and give you a glimpse of their respective holiday. This narrative seemed a little more “warm and fuzzy” to me but it was less specific about what happens on each day.

My First Kwanza Book by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate depicts a family during the seven days of Kwanzaa. Like Karen Katz’s book, each day is noted with its special name. In contrast to Katz’s book, this one offers a pronunciation guide and definitions of the special words and the meaning behind the customs at the end. For example, the kinara is defined as a candle holder with seven candles, symbolizing the ancestors.

Any of these books would be appropriate for any age but It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Kwanzaa is probably the best for the youngest children. Chocolate’s My First Kwanzaa Book was the most comprehensive, very useful for those unfamiliar with this holiday while Katz’s My First Kwanza is a nice story with some explanation.

~ Sandra Koehler Lee

You can view Sandra’s full list of great winter holiday books at her web site.