Jackie's Gift, by Sharon Robinson

This book is based on a true story, where Jackie Robinson and his family move into a predominantly white neighborhood and befriend a young neighbor - upon discovering that he doesn't have a Christmas tree at home, the Robinsons surprise him with a Christmas tree as a gift, only to discover that his family is Jewish.  Highly recommended, with the caveat that this does discuss a neighborhood petition against the Robinsons moving in, and compares this to Jewish persecution.  I'm normally a big advocate of open discussions about race with children, but in this case I didn't feel like getting into it in the middle of a holiday story - as my son doesn't read yet I skipped over the two pages where this is discussed and he didn't notice so it wasn't a big deal, but perhaps something to think about if your child is a reader.

BUY HERE

Christmas Books - Honorable Mentions

Here are a few books that we checked out that we didn't personally love, but considering how difficult it is to locate holiday books feature people of color I thought I'd still summarize them below in case people were interested:

Grandma's Gift, by Eric Velasquez: A Puerto Rican family prepare for Christmas.  In particular, a boy (meant to be the author Eric Velasquez) and his grandmother take a trip to the Met where he is enchanted by a painting by Diego Velasquez, and subsequently receives a sketchbook and colored pencils as a gift.  My 4 year old was bored by this book and refused to finish reading it (I finished on my own), which never really happens - it was definitely a bit advanced for him but it was also too technical and didn't have an engaging story.

Santa's Kwanzaa, by Garen Eileen Thomas: A black Santa returns home to a Kwanzaa celebration, prepared by Mrs. Claus and the elves (all black).  Neither my son or I enjoyed this much, but then again - we don't celebrate Kwanzaa and maybe the book is more appealing to those who do.

Christmas Makes Me Think, by Tony Medina: Despite the fact that my husband and I both find this book oddly hilarious and therefore kind of love it, and my son frequently requests it as well, I have a hard time recommending it to others.  It's just super weird.  It starts out typically enough - a black boy is listing things that Christmas makes him think about, like food and presents and Christmas tree, but then abruptly shifts to "But what about all those trees that never make it to Christmas . . . how much better it would be to just visit a tree and just give it presents" and goes on from there.

The Night Before Christmas, by Rachel Isadora

I searched far and wide for a version of The Night Before Christmas featuring a black Santa.  I don't know why it took me so long to locate this one, illustrated by one of our favorites - Rachel Isadora (I also highly recommend her retellings of classic fairy tales).  The story itself is the traditional one (including the line about Santa's pipe and the smoke encircling "his head like a wreath" - at which point in the reading my son and I always say "Santa, stop smoking!" in mock shock), but the illustrations are of a traditional African village.

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The Snowy Day - Amazon Prime Video

Last year, Amazon came out with a 38 minute video of The Snowy Day, an extremely well done expansion on the classic children's book.  It shows Peter venturing around New York on Christmas Eve and interacting with his racially diverse neighbors, culminating in a Christmas Eve celebration.  My son adored this video as a 3 year old and is excited to watch it again this year. 

WATCH HERE

The Nutcracker in Harlem, by T.E. McMorrow

Parents will find this retelling of The Nutcracker with an all black cast (except for the mouse army, of course) particularly appealing.  My son enjoys it as well, though not as much as my husband and me.  The story is set during the Harlem Renaissance with references to musicians Cab Calloway and Adelaide Hall, and focuses on the main character Marie gaining confidence as a singer and drummer.

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Christmas for 10, by Cathryn Falwell

We were already fans of Cathryn Falwell's Feast for 10, and Christmas for 10 is equally enjoyable.  The book follows a large family as they prepare for the holiday by baking, decorating, and joyously celebrating the holiday together. My son delighted in pointing out the details on the wrapping paper and finding similarities between our family's traditions with those in the book.  A fun read (the book is a bit longer than it may seem, as it counts to 10 twice).

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A Child Is Born, by Margaret Wise Brown

A tentative recommendation for A Child is Born.  We're huge Margaret Wise Brown fans - most widely known as the author of Goodnight Moon, but most famous in our house as the author of the deeply odd yet delightful Little Fur Family (decidedly not a book for everyone, the first few times we read it my husband and I were baffled, but it slowly became one of our absolute favorite books of all time and the song at the end has become a frequent lullaby in our home).  However, while her very brief Christmas poem is lovely and lyrical it isn't that appealing to children.  My 4 year old pronounced this book "too short" and didn't really follow the poem aside from what he already knows of the Christmas story.  However, the black nativity scene inside is beautifully painted and wonderfully representative, and I'm glad we have it our home.

BUY A CHILD IS BORN HERE