Marita Bullock and Joan-Maree Hargreaves (text) and Liz Rowlands (illustrator), The Big Book of Festivals, Hachette Australia, 64 pp., RRP $29.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734419972
The Big Book of Festivals is a gorgeous picture book that introduces readers to the diverse festivals around the world – whether they are about throwing tomatoes, Halloween, Whirling Dervishes, or festivals that are more religious like Eid Ul-Fitr, Easter and Diwali.
These festivals, celebrations and holy holidays originate in diverse places, from Greece to Japan, and Turkey to Queensland. There are also a few pages towards the end devoted to seasonal festivals like Nowruz, Iran’s spring-cleaning holiday or the Abu Simbel Sun Festival in Egypt.
I adore the diversity in this book. The inclusion of festivals I grew up with like Diwali, or my extended family and friends celebrate, like Eid, is always a surprise. I know there is a concerted effort to include more diversity in publishing, but I don’t think I’ll stop being surprised by seeing festivals that are an integral part of my life on paper.
I sincerely hope that my nephews and nieces will continue to grow up with books like The Big Book of Festivals that celebrate diversity of celebrations, religious or otherwise, and they will never have to be as surprised as I am by the inclusions of festivals like Diwali, Eid or Chinese New Year.
In addition to festivals like this, the book describes festivals like La Tomatina, which is the world’s largest food fight, or the Festival of Giants across Belgium and France where giant versions of characters from stories and legends are paraded through the streets.
I enjoyed too the inclusion of Bunya Dreaming. This is a modern take on an ancient Aboriginal festival to celebrate the harvest of bunya cones from the bunya tree. Colonisation, the cutting down of these trees and other factors all led to the traditional festival ending, and a modern, reimagined version starting in 2007.
Another part I adored about this book is the illustrations – these are colourful, diverse and form an integral part of the text as a whole. Most especially worth noting is how the book personalises the experience of these festivals through the illustrations – just before the introduction, readers are introduced to a cast of diverse characters who are present in all the pages that follow. Readers can see how these characters celebrate these festivals, and it gives a non-fiction book a more intimate point of view.
The Big Book of Festivals is a lovely introduction to the different ways people celebrate life, culture, and their beliefs.
Reviewed by Verushka Byrow
