The most wonderful time of the year is here. A spirit of giving and goodness seems to fill the air and warm the heart. During this season, parents and educators turn to books with stories that excite joyful memories of holiday traditions and fun but also transmit the timeless wisdom of gratefulness, family love, community, and sharing with others. Hopefully, a few of the selections listed—whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa or both—will continue holiday literary traditions or create new ones. All are picture books. Happy Reading!
I Got the Christmas Spirit | Connie Schofield-Morrison | Frank Morrison | Bloomsbury | 2018
All I Want for Christmas Is You | Mariah Carey | Colleen Madden | Doubleday BYR | 2015
Who Built the Stable?: A Nativity Poem | Ashley Bryan | Atheneum BYR | 2012
Christmas in the Time of Billy Lee | Jerdine Nolen | Barry Moser | Hyperion | 2010
Grandma’s Gift | Eric Velasquez | Walker | 2010
Christmas Soup | Alice Faye Duncan | Zonderkidz | 2005
Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem | Maya Angelou | Steve Johnson | Lou Fancher | Random House | 2005
The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll | Patricia C. McKissack | Jerry Pinkney | Schwartz & Wade | 2007
Christmas Makes Me Think | Tony Medina | Chandra Cox | Lee & Low | 2001
Everett Anderson’s Christmas Coming | Lucille Clifton | Jan Spivey Gilchrist |Henry Holt BYR | 1991
Under the Christmas Tree | Nikki Grimes | Kadir Nelson | HarperCollins | 2002
Mim’s Christmas Jam | Andrea Davis Pinkney | Brian Pinkney | Gulliver | 2001
Carol of the Brown King: Nativity Poems | Langston Hughes | Ashley Bryan | Atheneum BYR | 1998
The Bells of Christmas | Virginia Hamilton | Lambert Davis | Sandpiper | 1997
Christmas Tree | Vashanti Rahaman | Frane Lessac | Boyds Mills | 1996
Waiting for Christmas Monica Greenfield | Jan Spivey Gilchrist | Scholastic | 1996
Hold Christmas In Your Heart: African American Songs, Poems, and Stories for the Holidays | Cheryl Willis Hudson Scholastic | 1995
Celebration Song | James Berry | Louise Brierley | Simon & Schuster | 1994
An Island Christmas | Lynn Joseph | Catherine Stock | Clarion | 1992
Chita’s Christmas Tree | Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard | Floyd Cooper | Simon & Schuster | 1989
Li’l Rabbit’s Kwanzaa | Donna L. Washington | Shane W. Evans | Katherine Tegen Books | 2010
The Sound of Kwanzaa | Dimitrea Tokunbo | Lisa Cohen Scholastic | 2009
Together for Kwanzaa |Juwanda Ford | Shelly Hehenberger | Random House BYR | 2000
Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story | Angela Shelf Medearis | Daniel Minter | Albert Whitman | 2000
Seven Candles for Kwanzaa | Andrea Davis Pinkney | Brian Pinkney | Dial | 1993
#GivingTuesday is November 27th. People across the globe will serve and give to causes they believe in. If you believe we provide a valuable service, please consider a small donation of support on #GivingTuesday. Our stories matter. Thanks so much!
