Posted on: 24/08/2023
Celebrations and festivals, in all their glorious forms, are symbolic; a moment for reflection and a chance to mark the cycle of the year quietly or less quietly with colleagues, family and friends. Teachers will already have been thinking about those important seasonal markers and which ones to observe with their class and the wider school community as they prepare for the beginning of the new academic year.
This can be tricky to keep on top of at times and it is worth asking children at the start of the school year which dates they and their families find important and why, collaboratively marking these on a shared classroom calendar. Literature plays a key role in mapping out the year, especially non-fiction books such as A Year Full of Celebrations and Festivals by Claire Grace and The Big Book of Festivals by Joan-Maree Hargreaves and Marita Bullock. These are wonderfully comprehensive books that celebrate diversity. Little Glow by Katie Sahota and Harry Woodgate shows the commonality of celebration and ritual in families through lyrical verse.
We wanted to put together a list of books, just before the autumn term commences, that are ideal for helping children enjoy the significance of certain common life events – birthdays, weddings, new babies – or share and appreciate the religious and cultural events that form the fabric of their and other’s communities.
The one celebration many children are acutely aware of – for themselves and others – and will be sure to tell their teacher of in case they should dare to forget is birthdays. The book When’s my Birthday? by Julie Fogliano and the award-winning illustrator Christian Robinson (Milo Imagines the World is one of our favourites) is such a joyous, lyrical tale about the anticipation of birthdays. The book F is for Fiesta by Susan Middleton Elya captures the excitement around parties with alphabetical bilingual verse, including Spanish letters. Yoon and the Jade Bracelet by Helen Recorvits and stunningly illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska weaves in a Korean traditional tale which the eponymous Yoon reads and learns wisdom from on her special day.
Other life events that communities share are the arrival of new babies and weddings. Two gorgeous, inclusive books that represent the LGBTQ+ community are Making a Baby by Rachel Greener and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah Brannen. Making a Baby is a non-fiction and matter-of-fact guide to making babies, answering question that children may have in an appropriate way, informing young readers of the different ways babies are created, including IVF, adoption etc. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding tells the story of Chloe, who loves her uncle Bobby, and is initially worried when she learns he is marrying his boyfriend, Jamie.
Indeed, marking celebrations and festivals ensure that all children feel included and represented in the school community in terms of culture, race and religion. Celebrations and festivals are an intrinsic part of our identity and an opportunity to connect with those around us. We have included in this list books about certain major religious celebrations, including Jewish Bar and Bat Mitzvah coming-of-age ceremonies as well as Hanukkah. Becoming Brianna by Terri Libenson (part of an extensive series) is a graphic novel for older children and preteens and playfully follows the protagonist Brianna as she prepares anxiously for her Bat Mitzvah.
We included lots of books about Ramadan and Eid. Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story by Reem Faruqi with watercolour illustrations by Lea Lyon tells the story of Lailah and her mother’s journey through Ramadan and their eventual Eid celebrations. Whilst not directly connected to Eid, it is hard not to include the books The Proudest Blue and the The Kindest Red by Ibtihaj Muhammad and S.K. Ali which are ‘ground-breaking’ books about ‘religion, sisterhood and identity’ – a real must for every school library. We also included books about Diwali and the festival of Holi. The book Festival of Colours by Surishtha Sehgal is a heart-warming depiction of the Indian Summertime festival.
We couldn’t include all celebrations unfortunately but do let us know if you feel we missed out any great books that explore festivals and celebrations. For further reading, please check out our other lists, such as: Representation of Race and Culture Book List; Book List for Myths and Legends from Around the World and Book List for Fairy Tales with a Twist.
