From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8–Rather than focusing on the principles and symbols of Kwanzaa, this book attempts to place the holiday within the context of worldwide harvest festivals and the Civil Rights Movement. Chapters on harvest festivals, Kwanzaa founder Maulana Karenga, and African-American culture provide a wealth of well-documented information on everything from Greek myths to Alex Haley to the 1968 Olympics to the 1997 Kwanzaa stamp. The last chapters provide details about the actual celebration. Average-quality full-color photos and graphics appear throughout. Although the range of subject matter and the wealth of chapter notes are impressive (if occasionally bewildering), there are a few missteps–for example, readers are told that the Kwanzaa colors of green, red, and black come from the pan-African flag, but it is never shown. Also, no source is given for the story The Unlucky Boy. Still, this is a useful look at the origins and greater context of Kwanzaa.–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
