Holidays, home, and a little history is what you’ll find in this wonderful list of books for Christmas and Kwanzaa. Twelve Dinging Doorbells by Tameka Fryer Brown and Ebony Glenn (Kokila) has a little something for year round celebrations. It’s “a cumulative all-holiday carol packed to the brim with family, food, love, and Black joy.”
Speaking of joy, debut author and artist Lala Watkins presents Little Santa’s Workshop(Cartwheel Books) “the first book in a new series… bringing joy and sunshine to babies and toddlers!” Watkins describes herself as a “joymaker.” Read her feature in our “Debut You 2022” author series.
Kwanzaa is observed from December 26th-January 1st. In The People Remember, award-winning author Ibi Zobi “uses the principles of Kwanzaa to talk about the history of African Americans.” Loveis Wise is the illustrator. Check out all of the titles for individual or shared reading, or maybe a book gift. Happy Holidays!
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1. Little Santa’s Workshop (Board Book)
Lala Watkins | Cartwheel Books | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
2. My Baby Loves Christmas (Board Book)
Jabari Asim | Tara Nicole Whitaker | HarperFestival | 2019 | Amazon | Bookshop
3. One Good Night ’til Christmas (Board Book)
Frank J. Berrios | Eduardo Marticorena | LB Kids | 2022 | Amazon | IndieBound
4. Twelve Dinging Doorbells
Tameka Fryer Brown | Ebony Glenn | Kokila | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
5. The Truth About Mrs. Claus
Meena Harris | Keisha Morris | Little, Brown BYR | 2022| Amazon | Bookshop
6. The Christmas Princess
Mariah Carey | Michaela Angela Davis | Fuuji Takashi | Henry Holt BYR | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
7. Christmas Elves Being Themselves
Yolanda T Marshall | Daria Lavrova | Chalkboard Publishing | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
8. Black-Eyed Peas and Hoghead Cheese: A Story of Food, Family, and Freedom
Glenda Armand | Steffi Walthall | Crown BYR | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
9. Brown Baby Jesus: A Picture Book
Dorena Williamson | Ronique Ellis | WaterBrook | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
10. Ty’s Travels: Winter Wonderland (My First I Can Read)
Kelly Starling Lyons | Niña Mata | HarperCollins | 2022 | Amazon | Bookshop
11. Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History
Charlotte Nebres | Alea Marley | Random House BYR | 2021 | Amazon | Bookshop
12. Santa in the City
Tiffany D. Jackson | Reggie Brown | Dial Books | 2021 | Amazon | Bookshop
13. Carla and the Christmas Cornbread
Carla Hall | Chelsea Harris | Denene Millner /S & S BYR | 2021 | Amazon | Bookshop
14. The Real Santa
Nancy Redd | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Random House BYR | 2021 | Amazon | Bookshop
15. The Perfect Gift: A Jingle Jangle Story
Lyn Sisson-Talbert | David E. Talbert | Razorbill | 2021 | Amazon | Bookshop
16. The Square Root of Possible: A Jingle Jangle Story
Lyn Sisson-Talbert | David E. Talbert | Razorbill | 2020 | Amazon | Bookshop
17. I Got the Christmas Spirit
Connie Schofield-Morrison | Frank Morrison | Bloomsbury | 2018 | Amazon | Bookshop
18. All I Want for Christmas Is You
Mariah Carey | Colleen Madden | Doubleday BYR | 2015 | Amazon | IndieBound
19. Grandma’s Gift
Eric Velasquez | Bloomsbury Children’s Books | 2013 | Amazon | Bookshop
20. Who Built the Stable?: A Nativity Poem
Ashley Bryan | Atheneum BYR | 2012 | Amazon | Bookshop
21. Jackie’s Gift
Sharon Robinson | E. B. Lewis | Viking Juvenile | 2010 | Amazon | IndieBound
22. The People Remember
Ibi Zoboi | Loveis Wise | Balzer + Bray | 2021 | Amazon | Bookshop
23. Li’l Rabbit’s Kwanzaa
Donna L. Washington | Shane W. Evans | Katherine Tegen Books | 2010 | Amazon | Bookshop
24. The Sound of Kwanzaa
Dimitrea Tokunbo | Lisa Cohen | Scholastic | 2009 | Amazon | IndieBound
25. Together for Kwanzaa
Juwanda Ford | Shelly Hehenberger | Random House BYR | 2000 | Amazon | Bookshop
26. Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story
Angela Shelf Medearis | Daniel Minter | Albert Whitman | 2000 | Amazon | Bookshop
27. The Story of Kwanzaa
Donna L. Washington | Stephen Taylor | HarperCollins | 1997 | Amazon | Bookshop
28. Seven Candles for Kwanzaa
Andrea Davis Pinkney | Brian Pinkney | Dial | 1993 | Amazon
This year, GivingTuesday is on November 29, 2022. When you give, we give. Please consider donating to support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors.
