by Jane Bingham
illustrated by Mariona Cabassa
 
A bonanza collection of very diverse festivals across the globe including, of course, those which are linked to different religions, but also those which celebrate incoming seasons or which are held in honour of a special person or which simply offer an excuse to have fun! Each double page spread takes a different theme to link several festivals at the same time. So, for example,  the “Splat!” section is  “all about throwing things”, referencing Holi as well as the Spanish festival of La Tomatina and New Zealand’s Gumboot Day where participants thrown rubber boots! And, “Glow!”, which focuses on celebrations using candles, talks about Diwali, Hanukkah, Saint Lucia’s Day in Sweden and both Yi Peng and Loy Krathong in Thailand. The back pages come with extra treats. A "Look Again!" checklist sees what younger readers have remembered. This is followed by five extra pages giving bite-sized information about each of the 49 (!) festivals cited. ‘By linking through themes of light, dance etc. it gives a real sense of universality and commonality’ (Fen , Letterbox Library staff). Age 5-8, Hardback 32pp