Jump at the Sun: Over the River & Through the Woods - Holiday Classics (Jump at the Sun Holiday Classics)
PreS-Gr. 2. Books in the new, inexpensive paperback  Holiday Classics series are extremely uneven, and it's no surprise that authors aren't identified. The texts are bland and generic; the art is greeting-card style with glamorized, idyllic African American characters who bat their eyelashes and smile and smile.Over the Riveris a playful Thanksgiving celebration, but a companion bookIt's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Kwanzaalacks the rich historical detail about the ceremony that so many other Kwanzaa books provide. Yes, African American kids want to find themselves and their families in traditional stories; it's certainly nice to see Jack in dreadlocks. But  holiday traditions are more than sweet messages and upbeat role models, and there are many excellent African American versions that offer fuller text and much better illustrations.Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved