Christmas Soul: African American Holiday Stories

by Allison Samuels, Michele Wood (Painter)

With original stories by Debbie Allen, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Whitney Houston, D.L. Hughley, Monica, and more. In this collection of poignant and witty original stories, African American celebrities recount their favorite childhood Christmas memories. Accompanied by evocative oil pintings, these stories will illuminate the holidays for years to come. A portion of the proceeds for Christmas Soul will be donated to The United Negro College Fund.

Genres: Christmas

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Allison Samuels is an award-winning Newsweek correspondent who has covered sports and entertainment since 1996. Samuels is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Big Sisters of America, and the UCLA Black Studies Department board of directors. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Therese Fisher]

This book is a collection of stories told by celebrities about their childhood memories of Christmas. It is a sweet idea, but not what I was expecting from the title. I actually thought it was going to be folk stories that highlighted the soul of Christmas. I found the artwork touched the soul more than the stories themselves. They mostly focused on the joy of getting that one toy that was really wanted.

[Regina Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute stories, good way to start or end Christmas holidays.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories about how African American celebrities enjoyed Christmas as kids