Guest Post: Vicki Garlock, Founder, World Religions 4 Kids

Diwali is commonly known as the Hindu festival of lights. The light can be taken literally, as in clay lamps (diyas) and fireworks, or metaphorically, as in “the victory of light over darkness.” Diwali is also celebrated by Sikhs and Jains, but people all over India (and in the diaspora) can be found enjoying the festivities. Specific traditions vary from region to region, but eating sweet treats (e.g., ladoos), and “painting” colorful patterns on the floor with flowers and colored rice or sand (rangolis) are some of the more common ones. It’s a great holyday to share with kids of any age, and there are lots of published kids’ books to get you started. I reviewed about 25 of them and selected the ones that I think are the most well-written, enjoyable, and suitable for a range of settings — daycares, public schools, parochial schools, private schools, and homes. The complete list of all the books I reviewed can be found at the end of this post.

Introduction

As neighborhoods across the U.S. become increasingly multicultural, so do our schools. We look at our class rosters and see family names from around the world. We look out at the sea of faces sitting in the desks and see a variety of skin tones. And while we can’t determine someone’s religious affiliation on the basis of appearance, we’re pretty sure our students represent a range of faith traditions.

Much lip-service is paid to culturally-responsive teaching, global competence, religion as an important component of identity, and books as mirrors and windows. Nevertheless, the topic of religion still feels fraught, especially for preschool and K-5 teachers. Here in the U.S., a world religions unit in middle school is required by most states, but that is too late to begin. By then, we have failed to help children in religious minorities feel seen. By then, students – particularly those of color and those who wear religiously-themed clothing – have been harassed or ostracized. By then, numerous opportunities to build community and foster interconnectedness have been missed.

It’s also important to remember that it IS legal to teach about the world’s religions in public school. The information must be factual, not devotional, and the presentation must be as unbiased as possible – neither promoting nor denigrating religious beliefs and practices. However, that doesn’t mean religiously-themed content needs to be boring! All the world’s major religious traditions celebrate a variety of holydays throughout the year, and many are festive occasions when religious communities come together for faith-based rituals, special foods, and memorable traditions. Diwali is one of them.

So, here are my picks for Diwali-themed books that can be used with kids of various ages in various educational settings. If you have your own thoughts or experiences to share, I would love to hear them! In the meantime, enjoy these recommendations.

Overall Pick

Celebrate the World: Diwali by Hannah Eliot (author) and Archana Sreenivasan (illustrator) is my favorite book overall. Eliot’s text is straight-forward, non-devotional, and well-written, offering lots of information about Diwali without lecturing or being childish.

Sreenivasan’s illustrations are masterful. Her use of bright colors on every page reflects the celebratory, light-filled nature of Diwali. She also shows an incredible array of characters — depicting a range of ages, skin tones, hairstyles, modes of dress, and expressions.

The book is an Amazon best-seller, ranked #1 in several categories, and for good reason. It has almost 700 reviews, and 85% of them are 5-star. It’s generally marketed for kids in the toddler/preschool range, but it could certainly work for kindergarteners and 1^st-graders. I would love to see a book like this written for kids in grades 2-5.

Best Book/s for Preschool-Kindergarten

Teaching kids about religious holydays can be a bit tricky. Holydays are often celebrated in different ways in different regions of the world, but kids in this age group can handle only so many words on a page. It’s Diwali! by Richard Sebra (Lerner Publishing Group/Bumba Books, 2017) and Holidays: Diwali by Rebecca Pettiford (Jump! International/Bullfrog Books, 2015) do a nice job of finding that balance. Both books are non-devotional and use photos of real people. I like the additional end-pages a bit better in the Holidays: Diwali book, but I like the thought questions throughout the book in It’s Diwali. You can’t really go wrong with either of these, so see what might be available in your libraries.

   

If you prefer books with illustrations (rather than real-life photos), try It’s Diwali! written by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal and illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan (Beach Lane Books, 2022). It’s a counting book to the tune of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. The rhymes include vocabulary words related to Diwali with insets that have pronunciation guides and definitions. And, yes, it’s the same Archana Sreenivasan who did the illustrations for my overall pick.

Best Read-Aloud Book for Grades 1-5

In the majority of these books, kids learn about Diwali because the main character is celebrating in the midst of some other tension-producing situation. My pick for this age group is Binny’s Diwali, written by Thirty Umrigar and illustrated by Nidhi Chanani (Scholastic Press, 2020). Binny is nervous about sharing the holiday with her classmates but eventually finds her voice. It is through her that we learn about Diwali traditions. There are a couple of words (pedas and jalebis) that you need to know how to pronounce, but it’s a great book with a sweet story. It’s a best-seller in Children’s Hindu Fiction with over 250 reviews, and almost 90% of those reviews are 5-star.

Best Read-Aloud Book/s for

Already-Knowledgeable People

If you already know something about Indian culture and Diwali, or if you celebrate Diwali in your home, then you might enjoy either Once Upon a Diwali, written by Anita Mishra and illustrated by Diah Chakraborty (Soaring Kite Books, 2024), or My Diwali Light, written by Raakhee Mirchandani and illustrated by Supriya Kelkar (Little Brown and Co., 2022). Both contain a lot of vocabulary-type words with no pronunciation guides. Once Upon a Diwali depicts more general ways of celebrating and includes a plot line about a little girl who is afraid to watch the Diwali fireworks because they happen when it’s dark. It also includes a nice glossary, a ladoo recipe, and a craft at the end. My Diwali Light is more specific to the way in which one family celebrates, including the religious aspects.

   

Best Chapter Book

There aren’t a lot of Diwali chapter books out there, but Prince of Fire: The Story of Diwali retold by Jatinder Verma and illustrated by Nilesh Mistry (Barefoot Books, 2016) has excellent reviews. It’s not actually about Diwali, per se. Instead, it’s a shortened version of the Ramayana, the great Indian epic, which is one of the commonly-told legends about how Diwali came to be.

A previous version (Barefoot Books, 2002) is also good. It’s a bit shorter and not a chapter book.

Best Book for Kids Doing Research on Diwali

Allowing your students to explore religious traditions can also be a great way to meet literacy goals. If you have a student who’s interested in Diwali or a student who celebrates Diwali and wants to learn more about it, try Diwali: Festival of Lights by Rina Singh (Orca Book Publishers, 2016). It’s about 75 pages long and marketed to Grades 9-12, so if you’re using it with middle-schoolers, you might need to focus on specific sections that are of interest to you or your student.

Conclusion

Holydays are not the only way to share religious traditions with kids, but they are certainly one way. In addition, they are often fun, festive, and family-friendly. Find a good book, add a craft or a bit of food, and you’ve got a great start. And, if one of your students observes a particular holyday, you can use this as an opportunity to find out how their family celebrates. You might be amazed at what kids know about their own faith-based traditions, and you might learn something, too!

Questions, comments, or concerns about any of these books? Please feel free to reach out and share your views. And, if a book you love it not on the list, let me know, and I’ll take a look at it!

List of All Reviewed Books

Archie Celebrates Diwali by Mitali Banerjee Ruths (author) and Parwinder Singh (illustrator) – Charlesbridge, 2021.

The Best Diwali Ever by Sonali Shah and Chaaya Prabhat – Scholastic, 2021.

Binny’s Diwali by Thirty Umrigar (author) and Nidhi Chanani (illustrator) – Scholastic Press, 2020.

Celebrate Diwali (Holidays Around the World) by Deborah Heiligman – National Geographic, 2006.

Celebrate 5 Days of Diwali by Earth Ras Publications, 2023.

Celebrate the World: Diwali by Hannah Eliot (author) and Archana Sreenivasan (illustrator) – Little Simon/Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Diwali (Celebrations in My World) by Crabtree Publishing, 2009.

Diwali (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by Trudi Strain Trueit – Scholastic Children’s Press, 2007.

Diwali: Festival of Lights by Rina Singh – Orca Book Publishers, 2016.

Diwali: The Magical Diyas by Anitha Rathod, 2019.

Happy Diwali, written by Sanyukta Mathur, written and illustrated by Courtney Pippin-Mathur – Henry Holt and Company, 2021.

Holidays: Diwali by Rebecca Pettiford – Jump! International/Bullfrog Books, 2015.

It’s Diwali! by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal (authors) and Archana Sreenivasan (illustrator) – Beach Lane Books, 2022.

It’s Diwali! by Richard Sebra – Lerner Publishing Group/Bumba Books, 2017.

It’s That Time of Year: Diwali is Here! by Vanessa Kapadia – Vanessa Kapadia, 2021.

Let’s Celebrate 5 Days of Diwali by Ajanta Chakraborty and Vivek Kumar – Bollywood Groove, 2016.

Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story by Jonny Zucker (author) and Jan Barger (illustrator) – Barron’s 2004.

The Magic of Diwali by Sarojanie Totaram, 2024.

My Diwali Light by Raakhee Mirchandani (author) and Supriya Kelkar (illustrator) – Little Brown and Company, 2022.

Once Upon a Diwali by Anita Mishra (author) and Diah Chakraborty (illustrator) – Soaring Kite Books, 2024.

Our Diwali by Aditi Wardhan Singh (author) and Suja Dinesh (illustrator) – Raising World Children, 2024.

Prince of Fire: The Story of Diwali, retold by Jatinder Verma, illustrated by Nilesh Mistry – Barefoot Books, 2016.

Shubh Diwali by Chitra Soundar (author) and Charlene Chua (illustrator) – Albert Whitman and Company, 2019.

The Story of Diwali, retold by Jatinder Verma, illustrated by Nilesh Mistry – Barefoot Books, 2002.

This Diwali by Suraj Pratap (author) and Orlena Rii (illustrator) – Suraj Pratap, 2023.

About the Author

Rev. Vicki Garlock, Ph.D. is the founder of World Religions for Kids, a company dedicated to improving religious literacy in children and their adults. She is the author of We All Have Sacred Spaces and ABCs of the World’s Religions, both of which received multiple awards. Geared to kids age 5-10, the books offer insights into numerous religious traditions in a single volume, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism.

Vicki earned her Ph.D. in Psychology with dual specialties in neuroscience and cognitive development. Over the years, she has written extensively for both The Interfaith Observer and Multicultural Kid Blogs. She also regularly works with educators, parents, and faith communities around the country. Vicki and her husband live in Asheville and have two almost-grown children. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok (@learnreligions).