Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa

Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa

Written by Donna L. Washington

Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Title: Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa

Donna L. Washington

Author: Donna L. Washington was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and traveled all over the world with her parents as her father was in the military. Donna's parents adopted three Amerasian children while the family lived in Soul Korea. Donna's father was always a great story teller and when Donna went to college at Northwestern University she became involved in many theatrical productions. She began recording stories on tape for Children's Press and this lead her to begin writing Children's books. Donna has won many awards for her books and also her recorded works. She travels to schools, libraries, and festivals storytelling and offers workshops on storytelling, writing, education, and creative drama. When she is not traveling, Donna lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband and two children. http://www.dlwstoryteller.com/

Shane W. Evans

Illustrator: Shane W. Evans studied at Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts. Shane travels the world with his art to inspire others. He has illustrated many children's books that have received awards and positive media attention. Aside from illustrating, Shane also constructs furniture, clothing, photography, and CD cover art. Shane travels the world giving lectures and workshops promoting education, storytelling, and art projects. When Shane is not traveling he lives in Kansas City, Missouri where he runs Dream Studio. http://www.shaneevans.com/

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: Elementary

Synopsis: Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa is a story about Li'l Rabbit and his preparation for Kwanzaa. Everyone tells him he is too little to help and this makes him sad. His grandmother is sick and he wanders around town trying to find something to make her feel better for the Karamu (feast). As he travels he tells his story to many different animals. The animals are not familiar with Kwanzaa, but they like Granna Rabbit and want to help her feel better. Li'l Rabbit heads home feeling sad that he could not find anything to help and when he gets home he sees all of his animal friends contributing to the Karamu. Granna Rabbit tells him that it was his dream that lead everyone to celebrate together and that it was the best Karamu ever.

Kinara

Theme: The three major themes that can be connected to this story are Kwanzaa, family, and community.

Pre-reading Activity: The teacher will have the students start a T chart. On the left side they will write how they help get ready for holidays. They can include decorations they put up, foods they help make, and so on.

Post-reading Activity: After the story is read, have the students fill out the right side of the T chart. On the right side they will write things that Li'l Rabbit's family did to get ready for Kwanzaa. They can flip back through the story for reminders.

Assessment: The students will be assessed on their T chart activity. They will be assessed on their accuracy on the right side of the T chart. They will also be assessed on their neatness and readability.

Personal Reflection: Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa is a cute story about community and celebration. I am the youngest child in my family, so I know how Li'l Rabbit felt when everyone said he was too small to help. I enjoyed this story, because I think it has a positive message that anyone can contribute no matter how small they might be and it also promotes community togetherness. I would use this book in a classroom for a read aloud around Kwanzaa time. I am not sure I would teach a lesson off of it, but it would be included in our classroom library. The one thing I really love about this book is that in the back of the book there is a glossary with The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa explained by day and it always has a few vocabulary words specific to the holiday. This glossary is a great teaching tool or reference.