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Have a Happy--
It's Christmas time, and all the kids are talking about the presents they hope to get. It's also Chris's eleventh birthday--which he figures will get lost in the Christmas shuffle as it usually does. And this year, with his father out of work, there probably won't be any Christmas presents either. But Chris's family also observes another holiday. It's called Kwanzaa, a seven-day celebration of African-American heritage. If it weren't for Kwanzaa, Chris might be spending all his time feeling sorry for himself. Instead, he's busy making some very special presents for the holiday celebration-- a celebration that puts magic in the air, transforming it into a time of discovery. And Chris and his family are about to find out that with the celebration of a great ancient heritage, they will find a future full of happy surprises.
85 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published July 1, 1989
About the author
Mildred Pitts Walter
35 books10 followersDelegate to the 2nd World Black and African Festival of the Arts & Culture in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977. Graduate of Southern University with an MA in education from Antioch College. She lives in Denver, Colorado, and travels widely as an educational consultant.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 16, 2025
had never heard of this book before
January 6, 2015
It's slim pickin's on Kwanzaa books, as I discovered once again while looking for readalouds to recommend for my Library's FB page. (I did Xmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.) Aside from SEVEN SPOOLS OF THREAD, there are almost no fictional works around; most Kwanzaa books just explain the various objects and symbols and ideas associated with the holiday, which was invented in the mid 1960s. As usual, I would up recommending SEVEN SPOOLS OF THREAD and retellings of African folktales instead.
So when I saw this middle grade novel with a backdrop of Kwanzaa in our catalog, I requested it right away. This is the story of Chris, an African-American boy born on Christmas who generally gets shorted on presents and celebrations anyway, and is reeeally not expecting much because his father has been out of work for almost two years now. He longs for a new bicycle so he can have a paper route like his friends. His uncle is the one encouraging everyone to do Kwanzaa. In the end, Chris gets a surprise party, a new paper route, and a bicycle from everyone in his family, illustrating the principles of Kwanzaa. He also finds his father a job managing the paper deliveries. The story is genuinely sweet, and Chris himself, who loves to make things and do things and doesn't enjoy taking care of his little sister, is an engaging, realistic character, but it still has that "afterschool special" quality of all seemingly intractable problems being solved by the end of the book.
I wouldn't put it on my list of great read-alouds mainly because the writing is only so-so. It doesn't cry out to be read aloud like those wonderful African folktales or a book like THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. Another issue is that the speech of the characters is inconsistent. Sometimes they speak in black English, sometimes not, and there is no rhyme or reason to it that I could tell. For example, speaking in black English with each other and standard English at the job interview. Or using black English for jokes, or for serious discussion. In my experience, these differences in diction are usually more consistent. For example, I know a family of British expats whose children speak with an American accent to everyone outside the family but speak the Queen's English within the family--even to their dog! Still, the book fills an important gap and I would definitely purchase it if I were trying to develop a collection.
So when I saw this middle grade novel with a backdrop of Kwanzaa in our catalog, I requested it right away. This is the story of Chris, an African-American boy born on Christmas who generally gets shorted on presents and celebrations anyway, and is reeeally not expecting much because his father has been out of work for almost two years now. He longs for a new bicycle so he can have a paper route like his friends. His uncle is the one encouraging everyone to do Kwanzaa. In the end, Chris gets a surprise party, a new paper route, and a bicycle from everyone in his family, illustrating the principles of Kwanzaa. He also finds his father a job managing the paper deliveries. The story is genuinely sweet, and Chris himself, who loves to make things and do things and doesn't enjoy taking care of his little sister, is an engaging, realistic character, but it still has that "afterschool special" quality of all seemingly intractable problems being solved by the end of the book.
I wouldn't put it on my list of great read-alouds mainly because the writing is only so-so. It doesn't cry out to be read aloud like those wonderful African folktales or a book like THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER. Another issue is that the speech of the characters is inconsistent. Sometimes they speak in black English, sometimes not, and there is no rhyme or reason to it that I could tell. For example, speaking in black English with each other and standard English at the job interview. Or using black English for jokes, or for serious discussion. In my experience, these differences in diction are usually more consistent. For example, I know a family of British expats whose children speak with an American accent to everyone outside the family but speak the Queen's English within the family--even to their dog! Still, the book fills an important gap and I would definitely purchase it if I were trying to develop a collection.
May 17, 2012
Excellent social studies teaching tool and much more. Love it!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews