Illustrated by Bea Jackson

On Sale: Oct 13, 2026
Page Count: 40 pages
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
ISBN-13: 9780316341547

$18.99

$24.99 CAD

Format

Hardcover

Format:

Hardcover $18.99 $24.99 CAD

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This festive picture book celebrates the culture, community, and family at the heart of Kwanzaa’s seven principles by a two-time Coretta Scott King Award recipient.

When Kanoni receives a kinara for Christmas, she begins to learn about Kwanzaa and prepare for her first celebration. That same night, her neighbor’s home catches fire and burns down. Emboldened by the holiday spirit of giving, Kanoni, with her big heart, pledges to do everything she can to help her friends through this difficult ordeal. Her first Kwanzaa is full of kindness and community—just the way Kwanzaa should be.

Through lyrical poems full of holiday warmth, this heartfelt picture book follows Kanoni’s first Kwanzaa and highlights the many different ways to uplift its seven principles.

Genre:

Hope Anita Smith received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor for Keeping the Night Watch and a Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Author Award for The Way a Door Closes. She is a co-author of It Rained Warm Bread which was a Kirkus Reviews Best Middle-Grade Book in Verse of the Year and an ALA Notable Children's Book. An accomplished cut-paper-collage artist, Hope wrote and illustrated My Daddy Rules the World, which was an NCTE Notable Children's Book and a Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year. Hope lives in Los Angeles, California where she spends her time as an in-school poet and professional storyteller.

Bea Jackson is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Parker Looks Up and Parker Shines On, as well as The Twelve Hours of Christmas, among other books. She has also worked as a character and outfit designer for social networking and gaming platforms. Bea lives in Michigan and invites you to visit her online at beagifted.com or on Instagram @bea.gifted.

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Hope Anita Smith

About the Author

Hope Anita Smith received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor for Keeping the Night Watch and a Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Author Award for The Way a Door Closes. She is a co-author of It Rained Warm Bread which was a Kirkus Reviews Best Middle-Grade Book in Verse of the Year and an ALA Notable Children’s Book. An accomplished cut-paper-collage artist, Hope wrote and illustrated My Daddy Rules the World, which was an NCTE Notable Children’s Book and a Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year. Hope lives in Los Angeles, California where she spends her time as an in-school poet and professional storyteller.

Bea Jackson is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Parker Looks Up and Parker Shines On, as well as The Twelve Hours of Christmas, among other books. She has also worked as a character and outfit designer for social networking and gaming platforms. Bea lives in Michigan and invites you to visit her online at beagifted.com or on Instagram @bea.gifted.

Learn more about this author