• Home
  • Our Shop
  • About Us
    • About MKB
    • Our Shop
    • MKB Board
    • Editorial Board and MKB Administrators
    • Our Contributors
    • For Bloggers: Join MKB
    • Books and Products from Our Members
    • Cultural Resources
    • Contact Us
  • Product Promotion Services
  • Blog Hops & Series
    • Holidays Around the World
      • Martin Luther King Day
      • Chinese New Year
      • Purim
      • Passover
      • Easter Around the World
      • Ramadan
      • Hajj (Eid al Adha)
      • Rosh Hashanah
      • Day of the Dead
      • Diwali
      • Hanukkah
      • Christmas in Different Lands
    • Heritage Months
      • Black History Month
      • Women’s History Month
      • Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month
      • Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month
      • Hispanic Heritage Month
      • Native American Heritage Month
    • Blogging Carnivals
    • Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop
    • Global Learning for Kids
  • Resources for Raising Global Citizens
  • Privacy Policy

Multicultural Kid Blogs

For families and educators raising world citizens, through arts, activities, crafts, food, language, and love.

Diwali Book Review: Kids, Monkeys, and ‘The Diwali Gift’

November 5, 2015 by KetchupMoms

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

KetchupMoms - MulticulturalKids Blog

Earlier this week the mailman brought something wonderful to our doorstep. A book, and not just any book – one that brought a whiff of India to our home, one I could use to talk about Diwali with my little ones. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.

My husband and I have lived in Canada for many years now. Even though we travel back to the subcontinent every year, I know the kids’ connection with their Indian roots is going to be weaker than ours. That’s why on every trip we stock up on the latest music, movies and books about India’s heroes and heroines, all to help bolster that connection. So when I came across a book that talked about Diwali in easy-to-understand language with simple sentences, and was available in North America, I was excited. Almost as much as my kids were when they ripped open that parcel.

The Book: The Diwali Gift

The Story – it’s about three monkeys, Suno, Dekho and Jaano, best friends who receive a mysterious gift from their Grandma (Dadima) for Diwali. The little monkeys spend their time trying to figure out what the present is, and once they do it’s fireworks and excitement all around. The writers (Shweta Chopra and Shuchi Mehta, mom entrepreneurs living in California) have managed to hit a great balance between introducing Diwali to young children with less of an emphasis on detail. This worked out really well for my 5 year old because as I have realised she is not a “detail” person. At least not yet.KetchupMoms-Diwali Gift

What set the book apart from many other similar books was yes, the simple and interesting main story but also the subtext around the three little monkeys. This was a great conversation starter for my 9 year-old (I thought she was too old to be in the target demographic) because she has read a lot about Mahatma Gandhi and this was a perfect segue.

Appropriate for 3-10 year age group (I thought the book “The Diwali Gift” was more appropriate for the 3-7 age group but expanded that because of the Gandhi ji ke teen Bandar story). The easy to read language also made it a great tool for my 5 year-old who is trying hard to read independently.

I hope to see more books from these up and coming writers. They have already created lesson plans and easy to use printables that teachers and parents can use to work with their children. Even more, there are some fun Diwali activities here.

How wonderful that these simple stories and activities can help introduce Indian traditions to my Canadian children. Another way to bring India closer to my family.

The book “The Diwali Gift” is available for sale in Canada, UK and USA (Amazon, Books Inc, Target, Barnes & Noble), and signed copies ship worldwide from the 3 Curious Monkeys website.

The views expressed here are the writer’s own, and while the writer received a complimentary copy of the book, she has not been compensated in any way.

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather
The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profileMy Pinterest profile

KetchupMoms

Writer and founder of KetchupMoms, I am an ex-advertising professional trying to find humour in losing my sanity to my twins. I like to find a story or weave it. Imagine a bus stop in love with a bus, yes even stories that sound this bizarre. I love traveling, food, craft, books, movies, photography and writing.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profileMy Pinterest profile

Latest posts by KetchupMoms (see all)

  • 5 Homemade Tea Infusions to Brew a Healthy New Year - January 26, 2018
  • Diwali Rangoli with Spoons & Cookie Cutters - October 9, 2017
  • Bloggers Welcome To The Multicultural Kids Blog Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop #36 - February 21, 2016

Filed Under: Books for Children, Diwali, Family Activities, Hinduism, India, Learning About Culture, Teaching Diversity Tagged With: children's literature, diversity, Diwali, Diwali Books for Kids, family activities, Holidays Around the World, India, kids' activities, multicultural, multicultural children's books, multicultural families

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Trackbacks

  1. Kids and Diwali - celebrating Indian traditions in Canada - KetchupMoms says:
    November 5, 2015 at 9:08 am

    […] ways to bring India closer to my family, check out this book – The Diwali Gift. I gave it a very glowing review, for good reason. It’s great for introducing the festival to our little […]

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on Google+Follow Us on TwitterFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on Instagram

Anti-Bullying Resource FREE Download

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Grab Our Button!

grab button for Multicultural Kid Blogs
<div class="multicultural-kid-blogs-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img src="https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/button-take-3.jpg" alt="Multicultural Kid Blogs" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div>
Multicultural Children's Book Day Co-Host

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT