Stories for Children Magazine

Hi! I’m Stanley Bookman. I come from Storyville. This is the place where all the characters in each story live. Where is Storyville, you ask? It’s in the World of Ink, and you can only get there by reading. 

I’ve come to live here at Stories for Children Magazine to share tips with you on how to become better readers and have you help me spread the word about special events or holidays, such as . . . Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa is a week long celebration honoring African-American heritage and culture. It is observed from December 26th  to January 1st each year. Maulana Karenga was the founder and first celebrated Kawanzaa in 1966–1967. Karenga said his goal was to “give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history.”

The name Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning first fruits of the harvest. The Kwanzaa celebration revolves around seven principles of or Nguzo Saba—the seven principles of African Heritage. These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason, in addition to striving for and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Many Christian African-Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.

Reading Tip:

No matter where you live...the days are getting shorter and most likely, the nights are getting colder. That must mean winter is upon us! Winter can mean snowmen, mittens, hot chocolate, and sleds in many parts of the United States. For others living in the United States, there is no snow, but winter does mean cooler

temperatures. What is winter like where you live? Write a poem about winter in your neighborhood—does your neighborhood have silvery, delicate snowflakes floating freely...or does your neighborhood have mild breezes with the sun peeking behind fluffy, white clouds?  
 
Read the newspaper with your parents to find out how cold it will get at night and when you wake up in the morning. Do you need a light jacket or a heavy coat when you walk to the school bus stop? Look at the weather map of the entire country and locate where it will be the warmest, the coldest and find out how where you live compares. See if you can find an article about how winter is different somewhere else.  
 
Winter is an excellent time to curl up with a good book! A great story can take you to a tropical island if you are shivering, or take you to an igloo if you wish to have an ice-covered adventure.  

Have fun and see you next month!

Stanley & Tyke Bookman

Stories for Children Magazine wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the hard work and support of our contributors. Each contributor works for a small fee submitting stories, articles, poems, crafts, games, artwork, and so much more. To learn more about the contributors visit http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/SFCcontributors.aspx

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