Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal

Festival of Colors Reviews

• 
  Calista

  I was looking for a book out in 2018 and I saw the title and thought this will be great. I had no idea what it was about. WHAT A Delightful surprise!
  
  This is about a Holy festival in India in Spring where they use colors powdered from flowers to bring in new beginnings, inclusiveness and good over evil. The Festival is the Holi festival and they shout Holi Hai and throw the flower powders of color into the air as a big community.It looks just wild and sorta fun. Reds, oranges, violets, and blues. They wear white so that going home you are awash in colors. I am going to have to look up more about the Holi festival. It looks absolutely interesting.
  
  This short little book held the kids enraptured. They were trying to figure out what was going on and why and it didn't make much sense. Now, both kids want to take some flowers, make some powder and have our own festival. They think it looks like fun. I don't know that we should, but that was their reaction from the book.
• 
  La Coccinelle

  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.
• 
  Abigail

  Mother-and-son author team, Surishtha and Kabir Sehgal, whose previous collaborations include
  A Bucket of Blessings and
  The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk, join forces once again in this sweet picture-book celebration of the Hindu festival of Holi. The simple text follows brother and sister Chintoo and Mintoo as they gather and dry flowers, and pound them into brightly-colored powder - powder that is then used in the celebration of the festival. A brief author's afterword explains a little bit more about his "Festival of Colors."
  
  Appropriately enough, given the title of the book (and of the festival itself), illustrator Vashti Harrison's artwork here is vibrantly colorful, with lots of bold, eye-catching hues. Her style is cartoon-like, and a little flat for my taste, but the palette makes the visuals here immensely appealing all the same. The story is simple but sweet. There's a dearth of good Holi stories here in the states, so I'm pleased to see the appearance of Festival of Colors on the scene. Recommended to fans of the Sehgals, and to anyone looking for children's stories about the eponymous festival of colors.
• 
  Erica (EricaEreads)

  Vibrant colors and color identification, as well as a wide range of body types and skin tones, make this book a great choice for storytimes and for book displays. I would've liked a bit more exploration of what Holi is in terms of the holiday itself, but an end-note nicely expands on the sparse information offered by the text.
• 
  Urbandale Library

  This picture book easily details the key elements of Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors. Beautifully depicted and filled with vibrant colors, children and parents alike will be excited to learn new ways to celebrate spring.
• 
  Earl

  A vibrant celebration of the Indian festival of colors Holi with a bit of additional about it at the back of the book.
• 
  Karen

  The lush colors in this book are gorgeous. I am anxious to try this one out with my preschool storytime--a new, fresh twist for the "colors" theme!
• 
  Rebecca Gomez

  Colorful and simple. Good way to introduce another culture to little ones.
• 
  Steph

  I didn't even know the Holi Festival of Colors existed until I read this BEAUTIFUL book. Just lovely.
  
  And nothing beats a book that makes you smile AND makes you want to learn more!
• 
  Jillian

  I adore this book! What a great way to share this festival with students. And Vashti Harrison's illustrations are so joyful.
• 
  Emily

  beautiful! i fully want to make colored powder from flowers!!
• 
  Medeia Sharif

  Festival of Colors is a stunning picture book about Holi, the Indian festival of colors. Two siblings gather pigments from flowers to make the necessary powders, which is then thrown into the air and onto festival participants. The illustrations are lush, and it was amazing learning more about Indian culture.
• 
  Moonkiszt

  Featured in a grandma reads session.
  
  On the bold, beautiful artwork of Vashti Harrison, the authors, Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal helped up learn about HOLI, the Indian festival of colors. We loved hearing about it, and learning more about another culture. My group was whisper "Holi Hai" to each other as the characters in the book did. . .pronounced [holy, heh], and the meaning is "It's Holi!"
  
  We loved this bright book, and want to find out more about this holiday - in 2022 it is March 18/19? we think . . .
• 
  Ashley Adams

  The Festival of Colors in India sounds like a wonderfully fun way to build community!
• 
  Elizabeth

  Festival of Colors is a really sweet story about Holi that also serves as a delightful colours book! The illustrations are vibrant and gorgeous and suit the story and the festival perfectly.
  
  Highly recommended for anyone in need of a picture book about Holi or colours or both.
• 
  Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids

  This is a diverse, educational, and entertaining picture book for readers of all ages. It's adorable, brightly colored illustrations help create a book that leaves you feeling happier after reading it. It's incredibly easy to feel happy while reading a book about colors, flowers, family, and festivities.
  
  FULL REVIEW
  https://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2018/...
• 
  Julie

  This has inspired me to learn more about the Holi Festival of Colors. I’m hoping some of my students, their families, my neighbors and co-workers will be willing and able to share their expertise and experiences about the celebration. I have to say to be a part of a festival “of fresh starts. And friendship. And forgiveness.” would be a wonderful celebration indeed!
• 
  Sarah W

  My four year old is so obsessed with this book she brought it to school so her pre-k teacher could read it to the whole class. She's so obsessed with it, we've been reading it every night for three weeks. She's SO obsessed with it she tries to binge watch Holi videos on youtube. 5 stars from me for that reason alone.
• 
  Nikki

  As so many families go to the Festival of Colors here in Utah, this would be a nice introduction to the significance of the festival and its origins (I get that it is makes for a great Instagram photo, but there is a bit more to it)
• 
  Maria Caplin

  Literally a beautiful story about the Indian Festival of Colors. Perfect for primary (learning colors) and perfect for intermediate to learn about traditions. Perfect for everyone the power of creativity.
• 
  Molly Cluff (Library!)

  This was darling, and I loved seeing the meaning behind the tradition! The festival of colors is huge in my Utah neighborhood, but I don't know if people appreciate the cultural elements behind it. This book was awesome in bringing that to life!
• 
  Colleen

  A very simple telling of Holi. It is perfect for a storytime about Diwali or possibly integrated into a storytime about color.
• 
  Kristina Jean

  A lovely story on the celebration of Holi. I wish the illustrations had more detail and were more stylized.
• 
  Clementine

  This was fine and probably would work in a classroom setting, but it was also not a standout.
• 
  Ann

  Really great color book in and of itself, but the added element of education on Holi/Indian culture is GREAT (esp. with the author's note at the end to provide further context).
• 
  Alison

  Very colorful book about Holi - a festival I previously knew nothing about