Festival of Colors

by Surishtha Sehgal (Author) Vashti Harrison (Illustrator)

Festival of Colors
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Youngsters can learn all about Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors, in this lush picture book from a "New York Times"-bestselling mother-and-son duo. Full color.
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Hardcover
$18.99

Publishers Weekly

The Sehgals, the mother-son duo behind A Bucket of Blessings, offer a fittingly vivid introduction to Holi, the springtime Hindu festival of colors, as seen through the eyes of Indian siblings Chintoo and Mintoo. The children collect flowers from their garden to turn into brightly colored powders ("They gather orchids, because orchids make purple"), then gather with everyone they know in the town square to celebrate by throwing the powders on each other. Harrison (Little Leaders: Bold Women), working in a distinctly Disneyesque style, fills a spread with laughing and dancing celebrants, their skin and white clothes covered in dustings of red, yellow, blue, and purple. But the Sehgals also remind readers that "Holi is a festival of fresh starts. And friendship. And forgiveness." Those already familiar with Holi may wish that the authors had devoted less space to powder preparation (in real life, the afterword notes, "most people buy these powders from the local bazaar") and more on other aspects of the holiday. But there's enough brightly colored fun to prompt readers to seek out local Holi celebrations. Ages 2-8. Illustrator's agent: Carrie Hannigan, Hannigan Salky Getzler. (Jan.)

Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3--Brother and sister Chintoo and Mintoo are getting ready for Holi, the Indian festival of colors. Their process is slowly revealed as the siblings gather petals, dry and separate them, and then crush the dried petals into powders. Lively digital illustrations show the children's excited family members and neighbors carrying the powders through the streets, and then "POOF!" wet and dry powders fly through the air in a rambunctious celebration. Readers will learn from the book's endnotes that Holi celebrates "inclusiveness, new beginnings, and the triumph of good over evil." This is useful information, but the real beauty of this attractive book is that it shows the country's home life and community togetherness beyond the holiday celebration. Children in primary grades will find this an accessible read, whereas younger patrons can enjoy it as a read-aloud and learn about colors and cultural festivals in an engaging way. VERDICT A must-buy for picture book sections that will delight children regardless of their familiariy with the holiday.--Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

The Sehgals' newest picture book introduces young readers to Holi, a Hindu spring festival, through color, repetition, and onomatopoeia....Harrison's textured and cinematic illustrations are vivacious and dynamic, with renderings of humans that reflect her background in animation. Refreshingly, she represents children and adults with a wide variety of skin tones; India's many browns are also on display here.—Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2017 
Surishtha Sehgal
Surishtha Sehgal was a university professor for many years and now enjoys reading to children during story time. She is the founder of a nonprofit organization that promotes social responsibility among students, and she serves on the boards of two universities and a national arts center. She lives in Atlanta.

Kabir Sehgal started his class newspaper in second grade and has been writing ever since. A bestselling author of several books, he is also a jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning producer. He lives in New York City.

Vashti Harrison, author and illustrator of the bestselling Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, is an artist, author, and filmmaker with a passion for storytelling. She earned her MFA in film and video from California Institute of the Arts, where she snuck into animation and illustration classes to learn from Disney and DreamWorks legends. There she rekindled a love for drawing and painting. Now she uses her love for both film and illustration to craft beautiful stories for children.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781481420495
Lexile Measure
250
Guided Reading Level
J
Publisher
Beach Lane Books
Publication date
January 30, 2018
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV030020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Asia
JUV017090 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Religious
Library of Congress categories
Colors
Color
JUVENILE FICTION / Holidays & Celebrations /
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Siblings
Flowers
JUVENILE FICTION / People & Places / Asia
Holai (Hindu festival)

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