Celebrations Of Light : A Year of Holidays Around the World – Grade 1-4-Twelve holidays from different cultures are briefly examined. The book begins with the Brazilian New Year’s Eve, the Chinese New Year, Lanterns in Sierra Leone, and Lichtmesdag in Luxembourg. April through November are represented by Buddha’s birthday in Korea, Bon Matsuri in Japan, Diwali in India, and Loy Krathong in Thailand. The cycle concludes with Hanukkah, Sweden’s Luciadagen, Christmas/Las Posadas, and Kwanzaa. Two paragraphs describe each holiday and its significance and relate whether the light is used for celebration, remembrance, and/or worship. The theme of light is an interesting, unifying concept across cultures, but the text is too long for most teachers to read aloud in one sitting and there may be too little information to be useful as a reference for a single holiday. The stylized airbrush art has a strong geometric quality. Unnatural colors, ambiguous use of space, and unusual placement of elements give some of the paintings a cubist look. While the illustrations have a celebratory mood, they do not contribute much information. An alternative source might be Anabel Kindersley’s Children Just Like Me: Celebrations! (DK, 1997). Although not dealing specifically with the light motif, it does discuss many of the same days with more detail in text and photographs. Luenn’s book may be an appropriate choice for those looking specifically at light across cultural events or for those needing an additional volume on world holidays.
Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN

Gr. 3-5. Luenn examines 12 celebrations around the world and throughout a year that emphasize light. She includes well-known observances, such as New Year’s Day (in Brazil and China), Hanukkah (Israel), Christmas (the U.S. and Mexico), and Kwanza (U.S.), as well as lesser-known festivities such as Lichtmesday or Candlemas (Luxembourg), Buddha’s Birthday (Korea), Lanterns (Sierra Leone), and Luciadagen (Sweden). Each observance is presented on a double-page spread, with Mark Bender’s stylized airbrush paintings on the left and a brief description of the festival customs on the right. Although there’s not enough information here for report writers and some of the illustrations may be confusing to young readers (Saint Lucia, wearing a candle-lit crown, appears to be sleeping amid cups of hot coffee and pastries), this will be useful for introducing the concept that winter holidays (10 of the 12) encompass more than Christmas. Kay Weisman

Around The World Through Holidays: Cross Curricular Readers Theatre

“This elementary classroom resource is organized by month and highlights important holidays from various countries. Each readers theater script includes some background on the holiday, presentation suggestions, and several cross-curricular follow-up activities. The scripts are written for elementary aged readers and many provide historical information embedded in the text. Included is an appendix with recommended resources for teachers as well as a list of suggested books for students.”

“Carol Peterson shares 12 plays, adaptable for non-theatrical performance readings, in Around The World Through Holidays: Cross Curricular Readers Theatre. Each play introduces children to different cultures around the world by looking at holidays celebrated in that culture. Peterson introduces the holidays chronologically by month, including Passover, Dragon Boat Festival, Oban, Ramadan, and Las Posadas. Each play is accompanied by suggested activities for social studies, literacy, science, and math.”

Description

Around The World Through Holidays: Cross Curricular Readers Theatre includes scripts for twelve plays adaptable for any of the reading or performance methods of Readers Theatre presentation. Each play introduces students to a specific world culture by looking at holidays celebrated in that culture. The structure of the book introduces holidays chronologically throughout a calendar year–one play per month. The focus is on literacy and social studies, so the book is not tied to the traditional nine-month school calendar. Any play can be read when the student is studying its culture, rather than during the month in which the holiday is celebrated. In addition to social studies and literacy activities, science and math activities are also included. Suggestions for creating a classroom party to celebrate each holiday and helpful appendices are included as well. Grade level 4-6. 3

Hurray for Today!: All About Holidays (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library) – With a little help from the Birthday Bird of Katroo, the Cat and Co. explain (in rhymed verse!) the origin of common holiday rituals such as:

• lighting candles,
• dying eggs, and
• sending cards.

“The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library shows young readers that books can be entertaining and educational at the same time. This is a wonderful series!”—Barbara Kiefer, Ph.D.

Bonnie Worth is the author of the Cat in the Hat Learning Library titles If I Ran the Rain Forest, Great Day for Pup!, Oh Say Can You Seed? (winner of the 2003 Ohio Farm Bureau Children’s Literature Award), Wish for a Fish, and Oh Say Can You Say Di-No-Saur? She lives in Middletown, NY.

Among his many other credits, Aristides Ruiz is the illustrator of all the Cat in the Hat Learning Library Books. He lives in Newark, NJ.

American Holidays: Exploring Traditions, Customs, and Backgrounds – July 4th, Election Day, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve: reading about our American national holidays is not only fun, it is a way of exploring our diverse culture and values.

How do we celebrate Memorial Day?

What is the history of Thanksgiving?

What does “Be my valentine” mean?

Special features:

• 4 appendices of typical holiday gifts,
• traditional holiday songs,
• readings for the holidays,
• a listing of other holidays in the US,
• the official national holiday of each country in the world.

From the Publisher

For students and teachers who like a tape to work with their readers, we offer a cassette of the entire text of our popular American Holidays: Exploring Traditions, Customs, and Backgrounds, by Barbara Klebanow and Sara Fischer. The tape will help students with their pronunciation and listening skills.

On This Date : A Day-by-Day Listing of Holidays, Birthday and Historic Events, and Special Days, Weeks and Months – An affordable new almanac from the creators of Chase’s Calendar of Events.

This fun, fact-filled calendar/almanac will fulfill the needs of amateur marketing mavens, freelance writers, and trivia buffs who need to know what happened On This Date. This fascinating volume is packed with entries selected from Chase’s Calendar of Events, including more than 2,000 celebrity birthdays, important dates from history, fixed religious and national holidays, and special days, weeks, and months. Arranged day-by-day, from January 1 through December 31, the entries are American in emphasis and include humorous days (No Housework Day, Stay Home Because You’re Well Day) and sponsored days and months (National Honey Month, Great American Smokeout) that aren’t found in other day-by-day historical almanacs.

Key features include:

• More than 2,000 entries
• Contact information for event sponsors, including Web addresses
• Complete name and subject index
• Lists of movable religious and national holidays

From the Back Cover
Are you hopelessly inquisitive or trivia-mad? On This Date . . . will satisfy your curiosity!

On what day did Vietnam and the United States resume diplomatic relations? (See May 26.)

When is Mickey Mouse’s birthday? (See November 18.)

On what day does Peru celebrate its independence? (See July 28.)

Just what is Z Day? (See January 1.)

On This Date . . . has the answers to these questions and so much more! Comprised of select entries from the incomparable perennial favorite Chase’s Calendar of Events, this handy, fact-filled reference is packed with more than 2,000 events, milestones and trivia. You will find everything in here, from special months like American Heart Month to actor Russell Crowe’s birthday to the debut date of the “Peanuts” comic strip. With items arranged in calendar-date order, you will find:

• Historic milestones–space missions, stock market highs and more
• Birth anniversaries of important figures, from Charles Dickens to Tecumseh
• Key dates in American history
• Listings of United Nations special days
• Premiere dates for major television shows
• And much, much more!

Thanks to On This Date . . . , you’ll never miss National Roller Skating Month or your favorite celeb’s birthday again!