One of the most popular queries in our very engaged facebook group is, “Please suggest children’s books that introduce the festivals of India”.
There are lots! And so many of these books are actually called Festivals of India!! So we decided to curate a list of the most recommended ones by our parent members. The book title will take you to amazon.in via our affiliate link.
Also, if you and your children are big on Indian Mythology, we have curated a list of trending books on Indian Mythology for toddlers to tweens!
For 8 to 10 years
Festival Stories Through The Year by Rachna Chhabria – read Aditi’s review here . She highly recommends this book! To quote her,
This book has beautifully represented Indian festival’s in a unique way. There are many books which will describe festivals to kids but this book has descriptions woven in a family story which makes it a gripping read. You really feel like ‘which festival will come next’ ‘how will they celebrate it’ and just can’t keep it down.
Tell me about festivals of India by Anurag Mehta (9 years+)
Festival Stories (box set of 3) by Scholastic (8-12 years)
For 4-8 years
Lucky, It’s Diwali and Lucky, Its Not Just a Christmas Story! by Nalini Sorensen for 6-8 years (chapter books)
Discover India: Festivals of India by Sonia Mehta. This book also keeps getting recommended for 5-8 years (can be read out to 4 years+ and read independently by 7 year olds) and is bought every time a #kbcParent mentions it! The author is well known and her books are worth having in your personal collection. #kbcMember Mahima has this and insists every child should have it!
Aarav is an inquisitive boy and at every festival he asks me loads of questions! I bought this lovely book, suggested on KBC… and it is a must have. What he loves about this book are the vibrant illustrations and simple language used which he can easily understand.
When it comes to festivals of India, the first series that comes to mind is The entire Amma, Tell Me About series by Bhakti Mathur. Everyone just adores Bhakti Mathurs books. No wonder why the series is highly recommended by many of our parent members. Ideal for 4-8 year olds. There is a new series by the author called Amma Takes Me Places: A Box Set Edition, that includes Amma, Take Me to the Golden Temple, Amma, Take Me to Tirupati, Amma, Take Me to the Dargah of Salim Chishti . There is another book called Amma, Take me to Shirdi. Amma take me to the Taj Mahal is the latest release in this series.
The Amma, Tell Me Festive Series (set of 3 books – Holi, Diwali, Ramayana) is a sought after bargain every year in October, before Navratri and the festival season starts!
The Full Amma Tell Me: Ten Book Set works out to be super economical and gets ordered very often!
Amma, Tell Me About Holi – read Priya’s review here .
This story book was a great way to share our culture and especially our unique mythological tale about Holi. The book is wonderfully illustrated. The big pictures and bright colors ensure that the child retains his/her attention throughout.
Amma, Tell Me about Durga Puja! Achira highly recommends this book. In her words:
I got this book last year during covid when I wanted to tell my children about the story behind this festival.
The festivities around this festival is shown in beautiful pictures. But the part I love the most is the story behind the incarnation of Goddess Durga and her triumph over the Mahishasur. Mahisha the demon had this boon from Brahma that no God, no beast, no man could kill him. It was then that the Gods made Ma Durga- a woman who could kill Mahisha! We love to talk about each weapon of Ma Durga and how she bravely fought the strong Mahisha and saved all from his wrath.
Amma, Tell Me About Raksha Bandhan!
Amma, Tell Me about Diwali! is one of the most popularly mentioned one in our facebook group. Recently #kbcMember Amardeep Sodhi bought it and recommends it as well.
As a parent, I wanted my child to learn about Diwali and it seemed like such a hard task especially in covid times where the celebration would be subdued. How do you explain to a 3 year old the background, but avoid getting lost in the mythology – in other words keep it relevant. Amma, tell me about Diwali came to my rescue. It provides all the background to the festival, in simple words. My child’s favourite part was seeing Lakshmiji flying on an owl.. what a wonderful way to convey the vaahan! But, what I liked best, was the ending… of looking beyond the lights. Amazing book to introduce the festival to toddlers & pre-schoolers!
For 3-7 years
Festivals of India by Om Books Editorial Team. The cover says it all! #kbcMember Vandana Bakshi ordered this one for her daughter and now that the book is on a special offer, she has ordered one for her nephew as well! In her words,
Highly recommended book for all kids from 3-7 years and above. Very well articulated in short stories with large prints. Beautiful illustrations makes the book very attractive for kids. It covers around 25 Indian festivals from all regions and religions. It is definitely an example of unity in diversity. All in all, a superb book in hardcover with amazing paper quality!
Rama and Sita-The story of Diwali by Malachy Doyle, Illustrated by- Christopher Corr. Quoting Achira who has shared the inside pages in our fb group here.
The story is of why Diwali is celebrated but it is written in the most simple language for the kids to understand. Short sentences which are easy to read for new readers. And the illustrations are so colourful and beautiful.
If you are looking to build your stash for Diwali and want a simple book to explain why Rama was sent to the forest for 14 years, what happened to Sita, how Ravana was killed and why Diwali is celebrated this is your book!
Let’s Celebrate (Maya & Neel’s India Adventure Series) – This is a series of festival books that talk about Diwali, Holi, Ganesha, Janmashtami, Vaishakhi, Eid, and a few others. There are even some festival activity books by the same author!
Festivals of the World by Om Books – These are a series of affordable and easy to understand Indian festival books for 4-8 years as well.
My Raksha Bandhan: Promise to Protect by our kbc member Priya Kumari.
Kaveri Celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi for 3-6 years (26 pages) as recommended by Punidha. She has shared inside pages in the fb group here. This is a self published book.
For 2-5 years
And if you would like to introduce your toddlers/pre-schoolers to the many festivals celebrated in India – there are some easy to read books that our #kbcParents recommend from time to time!
Cutout Board Book: Festivals of India by Om Books is a popular and affordable option.
Hurray for Diwali by Anita Raina Thapan is perfect for 2.5-5 years. This author’s books are very popular with our parents and children!
Diwali (Celebrate the World)
The Princess Rani series by #kbcMember Anita Badhwar is ideal for NRI children who are being introduced to Indian festivals & culture.
Rani’s Green Ganesh Chaturti Festival – read review here
Rani Celebrates Holi – read review here
Rani Saves Diwali – read review here
Mimi and Soni Discover Dussera Legends by #kbcMember Devika Joglekar – read review here
Lilu’s Rakhi (kindle edition)
My Little Book of Holi and My Little Book of Diwali for 2-5 years. We have two detailed reviews of these books here.
Why Holi by #kbcMember Riyanka – read review here
Festival of Colors by Surishtha and Kabir Sehgal
When you search for HOLI BOOKS FOR KIDS on Amazon you can see other options as well. We don’t have recommendations/reviews on those books.
For 0-3 years
Baby Touch series has a few festival books as well!
Baby Touch: Happy Diwali!: A touch-and-feel playbook
Baby Touch: Happy Christmas!
Baby Touch: Happy Eid!
FESTIVAL CELEBRATION ACTIVITY BOOKS!
Inside India: Festival Celebrations Activity Book by FunOKPlease
Shout-out to our 13yo Intern-In-Residence (Aarini – The Chief Childoo) for posting this.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the books have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
