COME AND JOIN US! by Liz Kleinrock and Chaaya Prabhat

Come and Join US!: 18 Holidays Celebrated All Year Long might seem like a slightly belated choice for a post the day after Christmas. But the whole point of this book, written by Liz Kleinrock and illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat, is that there are other holidays celebrated this season and every season, and some of these holidays are not well-known outside of the communities where they are observed.

Come and Join Us was selected by my school as our most recent “book of the month,” and it’s a worthwhile jumping off point for discussing identity and learning about one another’s heritage. This book opens in a diverse classroom filled with students of many religions and cultures. Each page or spread that follows is narrated by one student describing a holiday important to them. Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh holidays are highlighted as well as national and cultural celebrations. The celebrations are presented in approximate chronological order, but given that they run on a variety of different calendars, this will not be exact from year to year.

A favorite feature of the book is the way a question accompanies each celebration description. I have never been an avid user of separate educator guides because by the time I locate one and evaluate the contents, I often find I prefer developing my own discussion questions and activities. But the questions embedded in the text are convenient to use, simple to adapt, and thought-provoking. A wide range of questions, from the simpler (“Do you celebrate with parades for your holidays?”) to the more complex (“How do your holidays bridge the past and present?”) makes it easy for an educator or caregiver to adapt the level of the discussion.

Chaaya Prabhat’s digital illustrations are richly hued and feature a different palette for each celebration. A note discusses why the author wrote this book, and the back matter also includes a glossary organized by celebration. As I read and reread, I learned about a few new-to-me celebrations, and this book makes for a fascinating and enriching addition to a classroom or library, or to read as a family at home.

As a final note, a Happy Kwanzaa to all who celebrate!