Carla and the Christmas Cornbread

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Author(s)

Carla Hall

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Cherise Harris

Publisher

Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

November 02, 2021

ISBN

978-1534494695

Buy This Book

Christmas is Carla’s favorite holiday of the year. She goes to her grandparents’ house and eats grandma’s special recipe—a perfectly delicious cornbread. She listens to her grandpa Doc’s marvelous stories about traveling the world. And, best of all, she spends lots of time with her family.

But when Carla accidentally takes a bite out of Santa’s sugar cookie, she thinks she’s ruined Christmas. How will Santa know to stop at their house if they don’t leave him a midnight snack? With her grandmother’s help, Carla comes up with a plan, but will it be enough to save Christmas?

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Carla and the Christmas Cornbread

January 20, 2022 (Updated: January 20, 2022)

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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What worked: I loved this Christmas picture book! Beautifully illustrated portrayal of a young Black girl and her family's annual Christmas traditions. The illustrations do a great job of showing the family, including the love the young girl has for her grandmother.

There's so much to love about this book! As a former first-grade teacher, this book would have been perfect for sharing with my students. I love the diversity and how the family is shown in a loving light.

My all-time favorite part of this picture book has to be when Carla sees a Black Santa ornament on the family Christmas tree. Her words I'm sure will resonate with many children:

...It's Santa, with his big bag of toys. He looks just like me...

I especially love showing Carla and her grandmother cooking cornbread. This brought back warm memories I had of my own grandmother. Carla's grandmother's suggestion for a different treat for Santa is a perfect ending to a magical holiday tale. At the back of the book is the recipe for the cornbread. I might just try making some!

Rich depiction of a Black family's Christmas traditions that is sure to be a new holiday favorite! I totally recommend this gorgeous book for elementary school libraries!

Good Points

1. Beautifully illustrated
2. Rich depiction of a Black loving families Christmas