Hinduism Readings for Educators
- Conover, Sarah, Katha Sagar: An Ocean of Hindu Wisdom for Every Age
- Hamilton, Susan, Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
- Easwaran, Eknath, The Upanishads, 2nd Edition
- Easwaran, Eknath, The Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Edition
- Goldberg, Phil, American Veda
- Knott, Kim, Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction
- Mitchell, Stephen, Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation
- MisirHiralall, Sabrina D., Confronting Orientalism: A Self-Study of Educating Through Hindu Dance
Hinduism Readings for the Classroom
Below are two short religious literacy text sets sorted by grades K-3, and 4-5. These can be used in the classroom to engage students in understanding lived religions. Please note that teachers should carefully read and review texts before using them in the classroom to ensure alignment with curricular goals. Also, if an educator is not entirely familiar with a faith tradition, use the Religion Matters educator resources page to find out more.
Grades K-3
Das, Prodeepta. A Day I Remember: An Indian Wedding. London, England: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2014. This book documents a Hindu wedding through colorful photographs.
Ajmera, Maya, Magda Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon. Faith. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2009. Photographs document how children around the world celebrate their faith traditions.
Bortzer, Etan, and Robbie Marantz. What Is God? Willowdale, ON: Firefly Juvenile, 2002. This text provides a comparative introduction in text and colorful pictures to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and their sacred texts.
Grades 4-5
Buller, Laura. A Faith Like Mine: A Celebration of the World’s Religions – Seen through the Eyes of Children. London, England: DK Publication, 2006. A comprehensive informational text provides plenty of pictures that detail the major and even some of the world’s more minor faith traditions.
George, Charles. What Makes Me a Hindu? Farmington Mills, MI: Kidhaven Press, 2004. This text discusses the origins, beliefs, praxis, and celebrations of Hindu faith tradition. Teachers should note that this text incorrectly represents Hinduism as polytheistic.
Glossop, Jennifer, and John Mantha. The Kids Book of World Religions. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2013. An informative text details the major faith traditions of the world.
Marsico, Katie. Hinduism. Ann Arbor, MI: Cherry Lake Publishing, 2017. This text, which is part of the Global Citizens: World Religions series, describes Hinduism through text and pictures. Teachers should note that this text incorrectly represents Hinduism as polytheistic. Read more from on this challenge guest blogger Sabrina D. MisirHiralall, Ph.D.
Osborne, Mary Pope. One World, Many Religions: The Ways We Worship. New York, NY: Knopf, 1996. A non-fiction story use photographs to detail seven major faith traditions today.
Patel, Sanjay. Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow. New York, NY: Penguin Publishing Group, 2006. Pixar animator and director Sanjay Patel describes Hinduism’s most important gods and goddesses with full-color illustrations and profiles. Teachers should note that this text incorrectly represents Hinduism as polytheistic. Read more from on this challenge guest blogger Sabrina D. MisirHiralall, Ph.D.
Sagar, Katha. Ocean of Stories: Hindu Wisdom for Every Age. Boston, MA: Skinner House Books, 2016.
Harvard Divinity School: Case Studies on Hinduism
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall’s Hinduism through Dance: YouTube Channel
Harvard University Pluralism Project: Essays on Hinduism
Hinduism: An Introduction, Harvard University Pluralism Project
