4.5 Stars

I’m always happy (and curious) to read children’s books about our festivals. Since Diwali has become quite popular in recent times (Holi is next, though sadly both festivals are also being appropriated). 

Anyway, the book is labeled non-fiction as it provides information about the five-day Diwali celebration. There’s a quick summary at the end, along with a quiz, steps to make salt diyas, instructions for rangoli (not the one we make; this is more of a lentil project we did in school), and the recipe for Shrikhand. 

The content is simple and easy to read. It is spaced out across the pages and inserted around the illustrations. The narration is a bit dry but works well to provide the details. 

The illustrations are vibrant and super cute. Can’t call them magical, but I do love the overall effect. Our skin tones are spot on (even our gods are brown, which gets brownie points). Thank you for the bindis and bangles, too. Little details like how the grandmother tucks her saree pallu when cooking and the red tilak on the dog’s forehead on Bhai beej day are a highlight for me. Not sure how many non-Indians will notice these, though. If I have to nitpick, the vibhuti on lines on the forehead will always be three (and not two). 

To summarize, Diwali is a compact little book that provides some insights into the festival. It doesn’t go in-depth about the reasons but mentions them in 3-4 lines each. The focus here is on how families celebrate (this is the North version since, for us, Diwali is not a new year and is only a two-day festival). 

Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – words & pictures, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#Diwali #NetGalley 

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P.S.: There are a couple of real-life images at the end taken from the internet (Getty images, credited mentioned on the last page).