Book Review: The Kwanzaa Story

Kwanzaa is a modern holiday that was designed deliberately to provide African Americans in the United States (and Blacks around the world) a deeper connection to African culture. The first celebration began on Dec. 26, 1966, and was inspired by the harvest celebrations in Africa, which happen at the end of the year.

South Africa in particular provided inspiration with the weeklong Umkoshi celebration, which marked the harvest and honored ancestors and community leaders.

Kwanzaa’s history and its spread around the world is explored in the book The Kwanzaa Story by Alliah L. Agostini and illustrated by Olivia Smith H.

The book describes how Black people in the United States in the 1960s began to stand up for their rights, including in the Watts Rebellion in 1965. Following that uprising, which is just a small part of the history of rebellion and resistance of Black people throughout American history, activists sought to ensure that Black people knew their history and felt a connection to their ancestral homeland.

In California Ron Everett had started a group called US that taught children and adults Black culture. Turning away from traditional American holidays, Kwanzaa was developed to celebrate community and culture.

The book goes through the meaning of each day of the celebration and talks about the symbols that are used during Kwanzaa. This is a great overview for kids of any background who might want to know more about where Kwanzaa came from and how it is celebrated.

It describes how the holiday has spread from one community in Los Angeles to a weeklong event that’s participated in by tens of millions of people in the United States and around the world.

In addition to the facts about Kwanzaa, the book includes a Black history timeline and a note about other Black American cultural holidays, as well as a note from the author about their family’s history with Kwanzaa.

While the book is written with Black children as the intended audience, children of all backgrounds can benefit from learning the history behind Kwanzaa as more than just a list of values, but also as a cultural celebration that’s an important part of Black history. The book is recommended for ages 6-9 years, but could also be beneficial for older kids who do not know this history.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover paper over boards. Published 2025 by ‎ becker&mayer! kids. Suggested retail price $18.99

Kwanzaa Activities for Kids [Lesson Plans]

Holiday Roundup: Celebrate Kwanzaa! [Edible Crafts]

Kwanzaa Printables and Other Resources [Lesson Plans]

Growing Up Ladybug and How to Become a Butterfly are both by Stepanka Sekaninova and illustrated by Linh Dao, and they came out at the same time and are on similar themes, so let’s look at them together.

Growing Up Ladybug is narrated by Mariella, a seven-spot ladybug. She talks about the parts of a ladybug, where they live, different kinds of ladybugs, why humans love them, their defenses against predators and the life cycle of a ladybug.

The drawings are cute if not always scientifically accurate, it’s not in such a way that’s likely to confuse kids (who probably already know that ladybug mamas don’t push their larval babies around in strollers, for instance.

It’s a good general description of the life cycle of a lady bug and why we like having them around.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Albatross Media. Suggested retail price $16.95.

Similarly, How to Become a Butterfly covers the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with caterpillars eating burning nettle leaves. (Here Amanda is the narrator.) The book talks about a few of the more than 18,000 daytime butterflies in the world as well as other creatures that live in the meadow (there’s that ladybug again, along with crickets, bees and other bugs).

It also covers some of the enemies of caterpillars like wasps and spiders, and the defenses that caterpillars use to try to prevent being eaten. It illustrates how caterpillars grow and change as they molt and prepare to pupate, and what a caterpillar looks like before and while it is forming its chrysalis. And while the book uses the word metamorphasis it doesn’t really talk about what happens between the caterpillar forming a chrysalis and the butterfly hatching.

This butterfly is a peacock butterfly, and once it hatches the book covers the parts of a butterfly and the life cycle. It also talks about nocturnal moths (though it says nocturnal butterflies are “usually called moths” when moths are actually a different species) and what butterflies do at night.

I’m maybe a little hard on this book because my daughter is a butterfly expert from way back, but it is still cute and good for the very basic basics of the butterfly life cycle.

Both books would be fun additions to your bookshelf for younger kids starting to learn about different animals or who have an interest in insects.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Albatross Media. Suggested retail price $16.95.

Have you read?

Leave a Reply