Lisa J. Amstutz

Diwali is a great book to introduce a new religion to people. I did not know of this holiday celebrated and I am so happy to learn about it because I love holidays! Diwali is celebrated over 5 days in October or November. Diwali has great illustrations showing the beautiful parts of the holiday including painting their hands and feet, having a feast, lighting a "diya" which is an oil lamp made from clay, and fireworks! I love how this book included definitions i the back of the book for words like "rangoli" which are patterns on the floor made from colored rice, flowers and sand. I enjoyed the book, and the message was to introduce people to new religions and holidays around the world.… (més)

I gave this book a 3/5 stars because although it is a multicultural informative book, it doesn't feel very inviting or creative. This book seems like a very short summary of Chinese New Years. It briefly describes how people celebrate the holiday with short statements. For example "people clean their homes." or "people hang red scrolls." With that being said, I love how this book includes real life pictures of how people celebrate Chinese New Years. Children will be able to see what the holiday would be like if they were to actually experience it.… (més)

The book "Kwanzaa" is an example of guided reading. It tells readers about the African-American holiday called Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa starts on december 26th so the day after christmas and it lasts for seven days. Kwanzaa is all about giving thank. The book walks readers through their culture (when it is about, when it us, what the days entail). The book includes pictures so that readers can have a better understanding of what goes on. What i like about this book is that it is very easy to read, short sentences with easier words that is probably at a second grade reading level. What i do not like about this book is that it does not use a lot of important vocabulary to define things, rather it comes up with the shorter definition of things.It does use more than her other book called "Chinese New Year" as it includes words such as "Kinara" which is a monorah like object which holds seven candles to represent seven days. It notes that there are one black, three red and three green candles.… (més)