Non-Fiction Reviews | November 2002
by Saviour Pirotta
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Ahoy there, shipmates. Winter seems to have set in already this year. The seas are rough and the sky seems to be forever dark, at least above the small pirate hideout that is Brighton. But never mind, there are lots of brilliant festivals to look forward to in the next couple of months. So get set making decorations, learn a song or a dance, put on your oven gloves and hoist the sail of celebration. It’s time to cook up a multicultural festive storm. Here are the festival books I’d choose to take with me on a voyage in case I got shipwrecked on a distant island and had to work with a class-full of wildly enthusiastic piratical school children.

Philip Steele’s THE WORLD OF FESTIVALS is a comprehensive introduction to the colourful world of celebration. Originally published by Macdonald, it has been re-issued in paperback by Hodder Wayland in a large format. Lavishly produced, it features every major religious festival in the world and some minor ones you have probably never heard of. My favourite is the Mexican ‘Volador’ festival, inherited from the Aztecs, where men attempt to ‘fly’ on ropes in honour of the sacred sun.

The book also features personal festivals like birthdays and funerals, and National days. There are maps showing you where every festival is held, activities for children and educators, a world calendar of events and a handy, detailed glossary. This is a book no library should be without.

Celebration Stories is a series of books that twins information about various religious festivals with a story. It covers Eid, Easter, Harvest, Chinese New Year, Passover, Hannukah, Guru Nanak’s Birthday and Diwali. The story about the Hindu and Sikh festival of light is written by award winning author Jamila Gavin. Called COMING HOME, it features two parallel stories - the sacred myth of Rama and Sita, and the modern tale of little Preeta, a girl who gets lost in a department store just before Diwali. Will the lights of the festival show everyone the way home? Read it and find out. The book, like all the others in the series, also boasts a short introduction about the festival and a very useful glossary. Nilesh Mistry’s gentle illustrations not only capture the feel of both stories but also provide good reference for making decorations like Hanuman masks and rangoli patterns.

Mike Hurst’s CELEBRATE DIWALI is part of a series that looks at different religious festivals. Simple text, coupled with colour photographs, tells the story of Diwali. It then goes on to show how Hindus and Sikhs celebrate this wonderful festival of light, not only in India but everywhere where people of their faith have settled, including the UK. Readers will find out about Diwali food, clothes, parties and body decorations. It’s perfect for young readers to browse through and pick up nuggets of information.

Mike Hurst, a primary school teacher with previous experience in children’s publishing, is also the author of CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS. Like the Diwali book, it has a world view of the celebrations, using photographs to highlight the joy of the various rituals and traditions. A calendar of Christian festivals is included.

WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS by Bobbie Kalman is a fun book that describes the origins of popular Christmas celebrations and how they differ throughout the world. It includes ideas for games, crafts, songs and interesting facts about Christmas customs in various countries.

THE CHRISTMAS BOOK by Jane Bull is a wonderful, best- selling extravaganza of Christmas activities. There are 50 projects to do, many of which can easily be adapted for other festivals too. Make an advent box, 3D greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, biscuits, gift wraps, mobiles, Christmas stockings and - my favourite - a snowstorm in a jam jar. Most of the materials you need for the projects are things easily found in the shops. Many of them will, in fact, already be in the resources cupboard

Kerena Marchant, an Iranian born author who worked for the BBC religious programme department, is the author of MUSLIM FESTIVAL TALES. It’s a short anthology of poems, stories, recipes and a play about Muslim celebrations. The play is short enough to be performed during an assembly. There is also a Bengali song about Eid-Ul-Fitr called Eider Chad. [That’s Id Moon in Bengali]. Marchant provides instructions for a simple dance to go with it, as well as the music score. The recipe is a very simple one: dates stuffed with pistachio nuts. They’re a treat Iranian children get on Ramadam nights after they have fasted - easy to make and delicious to eat. Tina Barber’s beautiful and delicate illustrations of Islamic patterns can be copied to produce cards and decorations for any Muslim celebration.

Adele Geras’ THE TASTE OF WINTER is another book from the Celebration Stories series. It is a gentle, warm story about Hannukah, the Jewish festival of lights that lasts for 8 days in late November or December. It stars Naomi, a girl who is going to talk about Hannukah in a Winters Festival assembly at school. She is also going to bring something for the special display. But what can she show her friends that perfectly captures the spirit of Hannukah? Will it be Mum’s silver Menorah, the special candelabra used for the festival? Or will it be something else…?

The book includes information about the festival and a recipe for latkes, crisp fried potato cakes that are eaten by Jewish people as part of the Hannukah celebrations.

SIKH GURDWARA by Kanwaljit Kaur Singh follows a group of children on a visit to a Sikh temple. From the people they meet there, and the objects they are shown, they discover what Sikhs believe and how they worship. There is a time line of Sikh history, related activities and a useful glossary. A feature on Sikh festivals gives information on Guru Nanak’s Birthday and how Sikhs celebrate it.

THE GURU’S FAMILY, also in the Celebration Stories series, is a story about Guru Nanak’s birthday, celebrated by Sikhs in December. Written by Pratima Mitchell, the book features Baljit, whose family is scattered around the world. On the day of Guru Nanak’s birthday, also known as Gurpurb, Baljit uses the internet to bring his relatives together for a celebration. Information on the festival and a glossary are included. Read and enjoy.

Well, that’s all for this months, shipmates. Time to put down the quill and start on those decorations. Until we meet again, Sat Sri Akal. [Read Pratima Mitchell’s book if you want to find out what that means. Heh! Heh!]

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