Silent Night, by Lara Hawthorne

This book combines the words to Silent Night with beautifully illustrated pictures of the Nativity, a Nativity scene full of people with black and brown skin.  I was thrilled when we came across this book at the library, and given that Silent Night is one of our favorite lullabies to sign at bedtime it's already been read repeatedly.  A simple, lovely Christmas story.

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library!)

The Christmas Coat, by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

My annual search for Christmas books that feature diverse kids continues!  We picked up The Christmas Coat at the library and it was a solid story - Virginia (a Native American girl) needs a new winter coat.  A Theast box (a box of donations from the East Coast) arrives with a beautiful new coast that she covets, but she isn't allowed first pick as her father is the priest and other children need new coats more than she does.  However, Virginia's reluctant generosity and patience pays off and she is gifted a lovely red coat for Christmas. 

My son was entertained throughout but didn't want to read again.  The story is lovely and rings true - the author grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.  However, my son understandably gravitates toward more generically happy books for Christmas.  Given the dearth of diverse Christmas stories out there this is a good one to check out.

BUY HERE (or, even better, request at your local library!)

The Day Santa Got Sick, by Deanne Samuels

Finally!  A Christmas book that features a black Santa.  I stumbled across this on Amazon and instantly ordered it.  And even better, the two other main characters are also black -- Mrs. Claus ("Coretta" in this book) and Ella Elf.  My son and I were both thrilled when this book arrived and read it immediately.

The story itself is fine.  Santa gets sick and has to find someone else to deliver the presents, but there are drawbacks to all the volunteers (a Snowman would melt in the hot countries, for example).  The main twist hinges on the fact that elves aren't an option because they can't read the list -- they never learn because they are so focused on making toys.  However, Ella Elf can read (it's not clear why), and she successfully teams up with Mrs. Claus to deliver the presents and saves Christmas.  I guess the message is that learning to read is important?  But given that this is a book for younger kids who presumably cannot read yet, it seems off.  Another odd twist is that there are words in other languages sprinkled throughout without explanation ("How would you place all the regalos around the Christmas tree?"), presumably because Santa speaks all languages.  However, aside from translations in the beginning it's never addressed and confused my son (and honestly, me).

All that aside, the book is pleasant enough and given the bold illustrations featuring a black cast at the North Pole I recommend it without hesitation!

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

Hallelujah! A Christmas Celebration, by W. Nikola-Lisa

A brief, lyrical retelling of the Christmas story featuring a black Mary and Joseph and, repeatedly emphasized, a black baby Jesus.  I suspect that the bright, simple illustrations and poetic text appeal more to adults (in our case, my 5 year old listened impatiently and tossed the book aside when we were done), but it really depends on your child - may work best for younger children.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll, by Patricia C. McKissack

Another lukewarm endorsement of a Christmas book.  This one featuring a black family living during the Great Depression, written by a black author and illustrated by the amazing Jerry Pinkney, a black illustrator.

Laura wishes for a Baby Betty Doll more than anything, and miraculously receives on one Christmas morning.  She refuses to share the doll with her sisters, but finally realizes that she'll have more fun if they all play with the doll together - eventually throwing a tea party and proclaiming it the best Christmas ever.  My son found this story a bit of a downer for Christmas -- it's so hard to find books featuring black kids that it stands out when they are the ones that feature a family in hard times.  Though this if a function of the scarcity of books featuring black families rather than a criticism of the story itself.  In addition, a very minor point, but Santa is referred to as "Santy Claus" throughout which I find incredibly grating, though perhaps appropriate for the period of time the book is set in?

BUY HERE (or request from your local library!)

5 Best Christmas Books for Black Children

Here are our 5 absolute favorite Christmas books featuring black children that we read over and over, enjoy!  

1. Jackie's Gift, by Sharon Robinson: Read more here!

2. The Night Before Christmas, by Rachel Isadora: Read more here!

3. The Nutcracker in Harlem, by T.E. McMorrow: Read more here!

4. Christmas for 10, by Cathryn Falwell: Read more here!

5. Corduroy /A Christmas Wish for Corduroy, both by Don Freeman: Read more here!

I Got the Christmas Spirit, by Connie Schofield-Morrison

A somewhat reluctant endorsement for this book.  For two reasons - first, the book features a white Santa (see photo below).  And second, there isn't much of a story - a young black girl wakes up on a day leading up to Christmas and goes about festive activities: holiday shopping, caroling, ice skating, visiting Santa (all beautifully illustrated).  However, the text focuses on the spirit of the holiday.  "I sparkled in the spirit of the lights.  Bling Bling!  I felt the sprit deep down in my soul... "  We read it once and it's going back to the library because my son concluded that he didn't enjoy the story.  However, if your child (and you) is more tolerant of picture books that aren't plot-driven or if you're just desperate for a beautiful holiday book that features a black girl then definitely check this out.

BUY HERE (or request at your local library!)

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.

BUY HERE

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.

BUY HERE

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).

BUY HERE

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

Snowflake Kisses and Gingerbread Smiles, by Toni Trent Parker

Immediately upon finding this gem at the public library my son proclaimed this "the REAL Christmas book!"  It's very short, 7 pages of text and 7 accompanying pictures of black children posed in festive outfits with presents or toys, but wonderfully representative and a quick, fun read.

The author, Toni Trent Parker, was apparently a big advocate of black children's literature.  We'll definitely be requesting other books she has authored, which seem to focus on holidays, such as Easter and Halloween.

BUY HERE 

(copyright is 2002, and only used copies are available, but the book isn't at all out of date)

Black Santa

Macy's is the only location in New York that I've been consistently been able to locate a black Santa.  Based on our experiences (and what we've been told by the elves) he is there all of the time - just request "Mr. Claus" when you get to the front of the line.  You may have a short wait as he gets ready (unlike the other Santas, he doesn't see a steady stream of children).  To explain the wait, the elves told us that he had just spilled some milk and they were cleaning it up, which delighted our son.  As an added bonus, based on our experience there is only one black Santa so we've managed to see the same exact Santa for the past three years (and have the same Santa in our photos).  He's amazing with our son and ridiculously conversant in children's toys. 

MAKE A RESERVATION FOR MACY'S SANTALAND HERE

Corduroy / A Christmas Wish for Corduroy, both by Don Freeman

My son is Christmas-obsessed (I mean, the whole family is really) - and last year around Christmas time I was really struggling to find holiday books that he enjoyed that also featured children of color.  We've always loved Corduroy, a children's classic about a stuffed bear who's dreams of a family come true when he is taken home by a black girl named Lisa.  So I was thrilled to stumble onto A Christmas Wish for Corduroy in the library last week - the book mostly focuses on Corduroy's search for clothes (he ultimately finds his famous green corduroys in Santa's workshop), but at the end of the story Lisa and her mother first encounter him on the shelf - this establishing this book as a prequel to Corduroy.  Both books together would make a lovely gift! 

BUY CORDUROY HERE

BUY A CHRISTMAS WISH FOR CORDUROY HERE