An important read to support equity in discussions around holidays.
Join a classroom of children as they describe festivities from faith and cultural traditions around the world.
An unnamed, Asian-presenting teacher and a diverse group of elementary school students sit in a circle ready to share some of the holidays they and their families observe. The kids acknowledge that many people associate holiday celebrations with “winter, decorated trees, and everything colored red and green.” But they invite readers to experience 18 celebrations that take place throughout the year, from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to Diwali to Juneteenth and much more. The description of each festivity is followed by a question; for instance, “What VALUES are uplifted on your holidays?” From the candles and flowers with which Buddhists decorate their homes on Vesak to the ofrenda of Día de los Muertos, Prabhat brings each holiday to life with beautiful, vibrant digital illustrations that capture important cultural details like clothing, food, and decorations. Careful readers will notice a little white cat who appears on nearly every page—a fun, whimsical detail. While the author’s note rightfully acknowledges that it’s impossible to include every nonwinter holiday, the book features good representation across groups, making it an appropriate classroom tool to foster an inclusive environment. A helpful glossary defines potentially unfamiliar terms.
An important read to support equity in discussions around holidays. (Informational picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780063144477
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project.
The Celebrate the World series spotlights Lunar New Year.
This board book blends expository text and first-person-plural narrative, introducing readers to the holiday. Chau’s distinctive, finely textured watercolor paintings add depth, transitioning smoothly from a grand cityscape to the dining room table, from fantasies of the past to dumplings of the present. The text attempts to provide a broad look at the subject, including other names for the celebration, related cosmology, and historical background, as well as a more-personal discussion of traditions and practices. Yet it’s never clear who the narrator is—while the narrative indicates the existence of some consistent, monolithic group who participates in specific rituals of celebration (“Before the new year celebrations begin, we clean our homes—and ourselves!”), the illustrations depict different people in every image. Indeed, observances of Lunar New Year are as diverse as the people who celebrate it, which neither the text nor the images—all of the people appear to be Asian—fully acknowledges. Also unclear is the book’s intended audience. With large blocks of explication on every spread, it is entirely unappealing for the board-book set, and the format may make it equally unattractive to an older, more appropriate audience. Still, readers may appreciate seeing an important celebration warmly and vibrantly portrayed.
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project. (Board book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3303-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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