Review - Holi Colors

Holi Colors
by Rina Singh
Date: 2018
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 24
Format: e-book
Source: library

Experience Holi with every color of the rainbow! This Hindu celebration known as the festival of colors and the festival of love signifies the end of winter, the arrival of spring and the victory of good over evil. A time to laugh, play, visit friends and get messy! Little ones will love exploring the colors of Holi through the vibrant photographs and Singh's playful rhymes in this brilliant concept book.

By the author of Diwali (Orca Origins), which has been called "an exceptionally valuable resource" by Kirkus Reviews and "a standout volume" by School Library Journal.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This library book has been on deck for weeks as I waited for the actual day to arrive. I have to say, given that buildup, I'm pretty disappointed. This book is simple--perhaps too simple--and is rather lazy when it comes to its aesthetic. In other words, I really don't like books that are illustrated using stock photos.

The text is presented in rhyming verse, which is at times clunky. It's basically just reciting the colours and illustrating them with chosen photos. Unfortunately, in some of the photos, the colour in question is kind of hard to see, so the reader must rely on the colour of the little flower that serves as the text background.

I'm not a fan of the pictures, either. Some are not pleasant to look at (like the kid on the green page, who has powder caked in her teeth), and some just had me questioning why they were used. On the page for red, the text reads:

Hush, baby,
hush.
Please don't
cry.

Mama got
RED from the
sunset sky.

This is accompanied by a picture of a child with no discernible red powder on him. But he is crying. The text should probably read:

Hush, baby,
hush.
I made you
cry.

Mama got
powder in your
poor little eye.

While the book looks diverse (since there are a number of little blond kids shown covered in coloured powder), I question how authentic this really is. I don't know anyone who celebrates this holiday (this area's Indian culture tends more toward the Sikh tradition than Hindu), let alone any white people who celebrate it! This is the problem with just going and finding stock photos. I would've much preferred it if someone had gone to some actual Holi celebrations specifically to take photos to be used in this book. (I realize there are Holi celebrations all over the world now, but that starts to call into question cultural appropriation. For this book, I would've rather seen the celebration depicted as it was traditionally celebrated, by the people who originally celebrated it.)

The reason I pick up books like this in the first place is so that I can learn something. Unfortunately, I learned more about Holi from its Wikipedia page than I did from reading this. Readers won't learn much from the rhyming text, and the author's note is very basic.

Overall, this is a very underwhelming book. For a celebration so visually stunning, I was hoping for more than just some stock photos of little kids with coloured powder all over them.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.29 out of 5