Kwanzaa!: Africa Lives in a New World Festival (Library of African American Arts and Culture) [Leather Bound]

Sule Greg C. Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999 | Series: Library of African American Arts and Culture

Discusses the history, observance, and significance of the African American holiday Kwanzaa.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-This introduction to the African-American celebration that takes place from December 26th to January 1st begins with a brief overview of the history of slavery and the civil rights movement in this country. Wilson touches on some of the contributions made to our culture by African civilizations and African Americans, and then goes on to explain the origins and meaning of Kwanzaa. He describes the seven principles that the holiday honors, using examples from African folklore and history to illustrate each one, and provides definitions and pronunciation guides for the many Swahili words. The text is easy to understand, although the illustrations vary in usefulness and clarity. Dolores Johnson's The Children's Book of Kwanzaa (Atheneum, 1996) covers similar material but goes into more depth and includes crafts and recipes. A serviceable addition.-E.M. c

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Leather Bound: 64 pages
• Publisher: Rosen Publishing Group; 1st edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823918572
• ISBN-13: 978-0823918577
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,923,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good info marred by slanted presentation, January 6, 2004

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kwanzaa!: Africa Lives in a New World Festival (Library of African American Arts and Culture) (Leather Bound)

"Kwanzaa! Africa Lives in a New World Festival," by Sule Greg C. Wilson, is an informative book about the African-American celebration of the title. The text is supplemented by a wealth of photographs. The book covers African-American history, the Swahili language, the origin of Kwanzaa, the 7 principles of Kwanzaa, and the items used in the Kwanzaa ceremony. The book includes a number of useful features: a glossary, a list of Web sites, a bibliography, and an index.

The book is, however, hurt by an often uncritically naive slant. At times the author seems to treat African culture as an artificial monolith, using phrases like "According to African principles..." or "African culture teaches us...." Casually referring to "Ebonics" glosses over a complex and controversial linguistic issue. And the book's presentation of the slave era is unbalanced; the author discusses "the Europeans" as if they were a monolithically evil group. In the end, these questionable authorial choices damage the book's credibility.

2.0 out of 5 stars too busy, not enough information, April 26, 2005

By 

Mindy (St. Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kwanzaa!: Africa Lives in a New World Festival (Library of African American Arts and Culture) (Leather Bound)

This is a busy, overly colorful book that tries to cover way too much information in such a format. It covers aspects of African history, slavery, the UNIA, African Americans in the 1960s, as well as the creation, language, symbolism, and tools of the Kwanzaa celebration. African words in the text are in bold, colored print to draw attention to them. Towards the end of the book, however, this becomes a distraction because nearly the whole page is filled with these bold, colored words. Other aspects, such as the use of the term "U.S. Africans," "Ebonics," and "outroduction," make the book seem naïve or just silly. It is hard to tell what grade level the author is aiming for with this book because it is above younger elementary students and seems to talk down to older ones. Perhaps this book could be used with 4th and 5th graders to talk about diversity, but I think its uses will be limited.

The author also includes references to his great-great grandparents along with a photo of himself which further serves to give the book less credibility.