The Night Before Diwali

The Night Before Diwali starts in a familiar tone with 'Twas the night before Diwali and all through the house . . .'

This would be a lovely book to have in the classroom for children who celebrate Diwali to feel represented in their class book corner as well as for them to be able to celebrate their culture by proudly sharing parts of it with their friends.  

As a KS1 teacher, I would love this book as part of our Diwali teaching too. It's a lovely story to enjoy as part of story time but could also be used as a launch for the topic with so much to explore inside. The pictures support the story nicely by illustrating parts of the text clearly, including what traditional dress looks like, how rangoli is formed and how the beautiful paper lanterns can be used to decorate. My favourite spread is the picture of the whole family enjoying dancing and singing towards the end of the story. It really shows the passion and community that Diwali celebrates.

There's a nice section with facts about Diwali at the end, as well as a recipe if children would like to have a go at making traditional Laddoo, which feature in the story. One thing that would improve it significantly would be to have a glossary at the back where children can search for the meaning of unfamiliar words. There are a lot of words about traditional dress, activities and food which would be really useful to have a specific definition of.

Picture book / Reviewed by Lucy Hopkins, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+