FESTIVALS
by Myra Cohn Livingston & illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
Festivals ($16.95; March 15, 1996; 32 pp.; 0-8234-1217-2): In a companion to this pair's Celebrations (1985), colorful streamers beckon readers toward 14 poems commemorating holidays, from the Creek Indian New Year and the Vietnamese festival of clean slates, to the bonfires of the Iranian Now-Ruz. The celebrations aren't all noisy: cherry blossoms get quiet praise, as do the saplings of Arbor Day. In fact, the timbre of Livingston's words often varies—fierce for Purim, hushed for Luciadagen, suppressed excitement for the Hindu Diwali. Fisher's paintings are also varied, a series of memorable images evoking entire events and cultures. (glossary) (Picture book/poetry. 5-10) . . .