Review - P Is for Poppadoms!

P Is for Poppadoms!
by Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal
illustrated by Hazel Ito
Date: 2019
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

From New York Times bestselling authors Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal comes a charming and unique alphabet book celebrating the rich culture, delicious foods, and fascinating animals of India.

From C for chai to Y for yoga, this fresh alphabet book takes young readers on a spirited journey to discover the people, places, lifestyles, and language of India. Lush illustrations from debut illustrator Hazel Ito bring to life the beauty, wonder, and diversity of this vast and vibrant country.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Aside from a couple of awkwardly phrased sentences, this is a strong alphabet book that teaches readers Hindi words from A to Z. Colourful pictures highlight the text while illustrating a variety of objects, animals, and concepts. There's a nice little explanation about languages in India at the back, as well as a full list of the Hindi words and how they're written in the Devanagari script.

All in all, this is a lovely alphabet book. I haven't seen too many that focus on a language other than English (while simultaneously being aimed at English speakers), so this was a nice find.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5

Review - Festival of Colors

Festival of Colors
by Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal
illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Date: 2018
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: hardcover
Source: library

Learn all about Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors, in this lush picture book from bestselling mother/son duo Surishtha Sehgal and Kabir Sehgal.

Spring is here, and it’s almost time for Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors. Siblings Mintoo and Chintoo are busy gathering flowers to make into colorful powders to toss during the festival. And when at last the big day comes, they gather with their friends, family, and neighbors for a vibrant celebration of fresh starts, friendship, forgiveness, and, of course, fun!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is the second picture book about Holi that I've read, the first being the underwhelming Holi Colors by Rina Singh. Unlike that book, which was basically just a bunch of photographs of children with coloured powder on their faces and some insipid rhymes, Festival of Colors has more of a story, with siblings Mintoo and Chintoo preparing for the festival by gathering flowers.

Flowers, you say? Well, as it turns out, those coloured powders are traditionally made from dried and powdered flowers. (I thought it was just coloured powder that was bought at a store!) So the beginning part of the book is basically a book that teaches colours as the siblings go about collecting the flowers to make their powders: irises for blue, marigolds for orange, etc. Then, when they have their powders, they join with their family, friends, and neighbours (all dressed in white) and begin the celebrations.

There's an author's note at the end that explains more about the festival, but the book itself already does a decent job of showing what goes on during Holi. And the illustrations are cute, intensely colourful, and immensely appealing.

I would definitely recommend this book for young children (or anyone, for that matter) who's interested in learning about Holi and what happens. It's also a colourful feast for the eyes, so people who appreciate good illustrations in picture books might want to take a look as well.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5