Kate DePalma

Martina Peluso

multicultural

holidays

festivals

Lyrical, sensory nonfiction text and vibrant illustrations invite readers to experience a child’s-eye view of 13 special days around the world, such as the Spring Festival, Inti Raymi, Eid al-Fitr, Día de Muertos and the New Yam Festival. Includes a global festival calendar and educational notes about why we celebrate.

Let's Celebrate!: Special Days Around the World

Samantha Berger

Kristyna Litten

Bedtime story meets Coachella in this adorable book about a sloth who packs up his pajamas to attends an arena festival for nappers, dozers, and the very best sleepyheads. Snuggleford Cuddlebun is a champion sleeper. In fact, she’s such a good sleeper that she decides to go to Snoozefest, an arena festival that celebrates sleep. There, she lounges in her hammock while bands like the Nocturnal Nesters and the Quiet Quartet serenade the audience with lullabies. There’s warm milk and honey to be had, designer pajamas from Diane von Firstinbed, and no one dares be seen without a baby blanket. But before she knows it, the nuzzling, snuggling, and dreaming are over–and Snuggleford has slept through it all. This hilariously endearing bedtime story is perfect for anyone who loves sloths, music festivals, and/or cuddles.

Snoozefest

Billy Steers

When the nights start to get cooler and the corn is ready for picking, it’s time for autumn fun at the farm! Tractor Mac loves the fall, but he’s just too big for the orchard, where he is stuck harvesting apples that Farmer Bill will make into delicious treats. Across the road, Small Fred the tractor is busy with the Pumpkin Picking Festival, but he’s just too small to pull all of the people who want to go on a hayride. Working together, Tractor Mac and Small Fred figure out a way to share their chores and share the fun.

Tractor Mac: Harvest Time

Kabir Sehgal

Surishtha Sehgal

Zara González Hoang

Three siblings enjoy the Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan—a celebration of the special relationship between brothers and sisters—in this vibrant reinterpretation of the classic song Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping) from New York Times bestselling mother/son duo Surishtha Sehgal and Kabir Sehgal. It’s time for the Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan, the celebration of the special lifelong relationship shared by brothers and sisters everywhere. Join two sisters as they lovingly make rakhi—thread bracelets adorned with beads, sequins, sparkles, and tassels—for their brother. And then see their brother present them with toys and sweets and special gifts! New York Times bestselling authors Surishtha and Kabir Sehgals’ irresistible text, set to the tune of the classic song Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping), will have little ones singing along while they learn about Indian culture. And the vibrant illustrations by Zara Gonzalez Hoang will have readers wishing they could step right into the characters’ colorful crafting world. This enchanting picture book includes instructions for making rakhi!

Thread of Love

Alexandra Penfold

Mike Dutton

A colorful, whimsical picture book about everyone’s favorite kitchens-on-wheels: food trucks! Join the members of one family as they head to the Food Truck Fest! They gather their things, cross the bridge, and prepare for a fun-filled day. And as they get ready, the workers on the food trucks get ready, too—preparing, tasting, and traveling across the bridge to join all the other kitchens-on-wheels. With delicious free samples and cuisines from around the world, it’s a day of trying new things and having fun together!

Food  Truck  Fest!

Jennifer Oxley

Billy Aronson

While visiting their friends Yasmina and Amir, Peg and Cat learn about the Eid al-Adha holiday where families celebrate with presents and food and by giving to others.

Peg + Cat: the Eid Al-Adha Adventure

Chris Riddell

There are musical goings-on at Ghastly-Gorm Hall and another spooky mystery for Ada Goth to solve in Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony, the fourth book in this bestselling series.Lord Goth is throwing a music festival at Ghastly-Gorm Hall, with performances from the finest composers in the land. Ada can’t wait, but it’s quite distracting when her grandmother is trying to find her father a fashionable new wife, there’s a faun living in her wardrobe, and Maltravers is up to his old tricks! Ada must make sure everything goes to plan, and luckily help is at hand from a very interesting house guest.Previous books in the series include: Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse, Goth Girl and the Fete Worse Than Death, and Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright.

Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony

Natasha Yim

Sophie Li

It’s the Lunar New Year, and it happens to be Mulan’s favorite festival! There is a lot to do to prepare for this important celebration, and for the first time, Mulan is old enough to help out. But everything Mulan does seems to turn out wrong. . . . Follow along with Mulan in this special Lunar New Year story that captures the unique sense of magic, imagination, and possibility that surrounds the holiday!

Mulan's Lunar New Year

Whitney Stewart

Christiane Engel

Discover a world of celebrations! This entertaining book introduces kids to 14 holidays, from Brazilian carnival, Chinese New Year, Bastille Day, and the Cherry Blossom Festival to Purim, Holi, Eid al-Fitr, Day of the Dead, and Halloween. As in the popular What’s On Your Plate?, each spread showcases a different holiday, offering background, cultural context, vocabulary words, photographs, and instructions for festive projects.

What Do You Celebrate?

Nnedi Okorafor

Mehrdokht Amini

What would you do if you woke up one night to find the shadow of a giant chicken passing your bedroom door? Go and investigate, of course! When Anyaugo follows a giant chicken into her kitchen one warm night in Nigeria, she embarks on a fun-filled adventure where nothing is quite as it seems. Is the mischievous giant chicken a friend or a foe? More importantly, will Anyaugo be able to save the food for the New Yam Festival the next day?

Chicken in the Kitchen

Rebecca Elliott

This adorable early chapter book series is perfect for young girls who love friendship stories starring animal characters!This series is part of Scholastic’s early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Eva Wingdale gets in over her head when she offers to organize a spring festival at school. Even with her best friend Lucy’s help, there is NO way she will get everything done in time. Will Eva have to ask Sue (a.k.a. Meanie McMeanerson) for help? Or will the festival have to be cancelled? This book is written as Eva’s diary – with Rebecca Elliott’s owl-dorable full-color illustrations throughout!

Eva's Treetop Festival

Katy Halford

It’s time to celebrate! From Christmas and Thanksgiving, to Diwali and Halloween, kids won’t want to miss out on all the festivities.  Embark on an exciting journey through the most interesting and important festivals, celebrations, and holidays enjoyed by people around the world. Stunning original illustrations and fascinating facts will inspire and inform children about cultures and religions from the countries of the world. Witness a camel marathon in a celebration of the Sahara Desert, and devour some delicious dumplings to celebrate Chinese New Year. Discover why skeletons dance at the Day of the Dead in Mexico, and get messy at Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors. Children will love poring over artist Katy Halford’s beautiful illustrations, which showcase every celebration in absorbing detail. Engaging factual writing introduce young readers to the most interesting aspects of each celebration, from the costumes worn to the food eaten, and encourage an understanding of other cultures and religions.

Celebrations Around the World: The Fabulous Celebrations You Won't Want to Miss

Doreen Cronin

Betsy Lewin

It’s time for the annual Corn Maze Festival.  The farm is bursting with activity.  Cluck Whack!  The chickens build a fence around the cornfield.  Moo Thwack!  The cows give the barn a fresh coat of paint.  Thump. Quack!  Duck builds the ticket booth for the hot-air balloon ride.  Everyone is excited. Well, Duck is not excited exactly. But he has a plan. As Farmer Brown designs the corn maze for the festival, Duck does some designing of his own. Guess who’s in for a big surprise?  The always-creative, always-hilarious, always-champions-of-corn-mazes pair who brought you Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type; Giggle, Giggle, Quack; and Duck for President have planned a terrific event. Step right up, folks.

Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure

Ryan Andrews

A 2019 Booklist Editor’s ChoiceA 2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the YearA 2019 Parents Magazine Best Children’s Books of the Year Ryan Andrews’s This Was Our Pact is an astonishing, magical-realist adventure story for middle-grade readers. It’s the night of the annual Autumn Equinox Festival, when the town gathers to float paper lanterns down the river. Legend has it that after drifting out of sight, they’ll soar off to the Milky Way and turn into brilliant stars, but could that actually be true? This year, Ben and his classmates are determined to find out where those lanterns really go, and to ensure success in their mission, they’ve made a pact with two simple rules: No one turns for home. No one looks back. The plan is to follow the river on their bikes for as long as it takes to learn the truth, but it isn’t long before the pact is broken by all except for Ben and (much to Ben’s disappointment) Nathaniel, the one kid who just doesn’t seem to fit in. Together, Nathaniel and Ben will travel farther than anyone has ever gone, down a winding road full of magic, wonder, and unexpected friendship. And a talking bear.

This Was Our Pact

V. T. Bidania

Dara Lashia Lee

Dressed in their traditional New Year clothes, Astrid and Apollo attend the Hmong New Year Festival. While at the noisy and jam-packed celebration, they accidentally become separated from their family and end up lost in the crowds. Follow along on their adventure as they try to find their way back to their mom, dad, and little sister, Eliana.

Astrid and Apollo and the Happy New Year

At the Hmong July Fourth Soccer Festival, Astrid and Apollo are excited to join their dad as he watches his favorite soccer team compete. But when they have to babysit their little sister, Eliana, too, they don’t know what snack she keeps asking for. To keep her from crying, they buy almost everything they see at the festival. Will they end up with a whole stroller full of yummy food?

Astrid and Apollo and the Soccer Celebration

Carolyn Keene

Macky Pamintuan

What fun is a fair with no tickets?  River Heights Elementary is throwing a fall festival! It promises to be full of fun games, great food, and amazing amusement park rides – even a roller coaster! All of the kids in River Heights, including Nancy, George, and Bess, are very excited and have been working hard to earn extra money for festival tickets. So when Nancy’s friend Ned claims someone stole his hard-earned tickets, the Clue Crew jumps into action.  The girls are in a race against time to find Ned’s tickets. And it turns out the culprit might have a very different reason for needing them….

Ticket Trouble

Jessica Young

Travel to a magical moonlit party with fairy friends Ruby, Iris, and Pip in this wondrous early reader series! Pick a Book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic’s early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency. Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow!Best friends Ruby, Iris, and Pip are on their way to a full moon party! In five dazzling stories, the fairy friends use their powers to create their own ride, play fun games to win prizes, and have a dance party! With easy-to-read text and charming full-color artwork throughout, this series is perfect for beginning readers!

Full Moon Party

Raúl the Third

Little Lobo and Bernabé are back in this joyful story about coming together and celebrating community, a lively follow-up to ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat, by Pura Belpré Medal-winning illustrator Raúl the Third. People are always crossing the bridge for work, to visit family, or for play. Some going this way; others going that way. Back and forth they go. With friends on foot and in bicycles, in cars and trucks, the bridge is an incredibly busy place with many different types of vehicles.  Little Lobo and his dog Bernabé have a new truck and they are using it to carry party supplies over the bridge with their pals El Toro and La Oink Oink. The line is long and everyone on the bridge is stuck. How will they pass the time? Eventually everyone comes together for an epic party on the bridge between two different countries. Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go gets Mexican American makeover in this joyful story about coming together.

¡Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge

Poppy Green

Jennifer A. Bell

Sophie Mouse is so excited to help her mother bake treats for Silverlake Forest’s big Maple Festival in the fifth book of The Adventures of Sophie Mouse. It’s finally fall in Silverlake Forest, and that means it’s time for the annual Maple Festival! The animals have heard it is going to be the biggest one yet with games, rides and, of course, Lily Mouse’s famous maple-filled bake-stand. Sophie is delighted when her mother asks for her help baking the goodies for the festival. When they get there, Sophie runs off to play with her friends…until she notices that no one has come to her mother’s stand! Can she use some quick thinking and her artistic skills to draw customers in? With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Adventures of Sophie Mouse chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

The Maple Festival

Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

The adorable mermaid-kittens in this chapter book series are ready to sing on stage–fans of the Magic Kitten and the Fairy Animals series will be paw-sitively hooked from page one! It’s a special day in Kittentail Cove! Purrmaids have a chance to sing in front of the whole town. Shelly can’t wait to try out. Especially once she hears this year’s surprise guest. The winning purrmaids get to sing with famous pop star Kelpy Sharkson! There’s just one problem. Shelly thinks practice makes purr-fect, but her friends get tired of singing all day. Can the purrmaids find a way to work hard and have fun?

A Star Purr-Formance

Franklin W. Dixon

A medieval faire brings the past to life–and a mystery to the present–in this Hardy Brothers Secret Files adventure. Frank and Joe Hardy are excited to visit the King Arthur Faire in Bayport. On Kid’s Day, there are all kinds of special contests and events, like the Medieval Maze and Junior Jester Court Slam. The highlight of the day is the Junior Joust competition: whoever can stay on a mechanical horse and lance a golden ring with their (fake) sword will win seats to watch the real jousting competition later in the day. To everyone’s surprise (and delight) Joe and Frank’s friend, Chet Morton, manages to lance the ring and beat out town bully, Adam Ackerman. But after celebrating the win at a pizza stand, Chet discovers his ring–and ticket for the grand prize–is missing! Can Joe and Frank figure out who is the rogue knight before the big show?

Medieval Upheaval

James Patterson

Alex Cross’s son Ali is an accomplished mystery-solver and #1 bestseller. A crime at a concert near his school sparks his newest investigation, and it gets dangerous fast. Sometimes it’s good to have a father in the detective business.  ALEX CROSS is a genius detective. ALI CROSS is following in his father’s footsteps. When Ali sees a friend get hurt, he’s the best person to find out who did it. Even if he’s only a kid. After all, he’s Alex Cross’s son. Solving crimes runs in the family.

Ali Cross: Like Father, Like Son

Vanishing Fruit? No Way!  Nancy and her friends are off on an apple-picking adventure! They are headed to the Kids Apple Festival, where they will pick apples, go on a hayride, and work their way through a cornstalk maze. Bess is excited about the applesauce-eating contest – after all, apples are her favorite food! And the winner gets a whole basket of River Heights Reds – a brand new type of apple!  But when the basket – and all the apples in it – vanishes, Nancy knows she has to get to the core of this mystery. Can she figure out who the bad apple is, or is this festival on the verge of an apple emergency?

The Apple Bandit

Daisy Meadows

It’s time for the Frost Festival in Friendship Forest, and all the little animals are waiting for snow, food and presents! Baby bunny Mia Floppyear is the most excited of all, as she’s going to perform in the Winter Show . . . Until wicked witch Grizelda casts a spell to ruin the fun for everyone! Can Jess and Lily find the three Winter Wonders and stop Grizelda?

Mia Floppyear's Snowy Adventure

Rina Singh

Every year in October or November people come together to celebrate Diwali. It is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. The stories woven into the festival of Diwali celebrate the victory of good over evil and light over darkness, and people celebrate this festival of lights by lighting clay lamps and candles, sharing sweets, exchanging gifts, offering prayers to gods and goddesses and watching fireworks. Introduce your little one to the awe of this brilliant festival through dazzling photographs and Singh’s lyrical prose.

Diwali Lights

Cori Doerrfeld

A sweet, fun-filled follow-up to The Welcome Wagon from acclaimed author Cori Doerrfeld!  Every year, the town of Cubby Hill comes together for the Great Giving Festival, celebrating the spirit of giving and community that makes their town such a great place to live. And this year, Cooper Cub has a very special task: delivering his grandmother’s special honey to everyone in town! But with such a big job, can Cooper find a way to help his friends and sweeten up the Festival?  In this sweet follow-up to The Welcome Wagon, Cori Doerrfeld’s adorable animal citizens of Cubby Hill celebrate sharing with your community and offering a helping hand!

The Giving Day

Experience Holi with every color of the rainbow! This Hindu celebration known as the festival of colors and the festival of love signifies the end of winter, the arrival of spring and the victory of good over evil. A time to laugh, play, visit friends and get messy! Little ones will love exploring the colors of Holi through the vibrant photographs and Singh’s playful rhymes in this brilliant concept book.

Holi Colors

Pearl Law

Christina Matula

Join two sisters as they listen to their grandmother tell the tale of the origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Hou Yi, a brave archer, saves the world from drought and is given a magic potion for his deeds. Chang’e, his wife, courageously protects the potion from a thief and is transformed into the Lady in the Moon.

This is a tale of sweethearts, mooncakes, and how the Mid-Autumn Festival came to be.

The Shadow in the Moon: A Tale of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Aldens are visiting a small town known for its harvest festival. The town is beautiful in the fall, but rumors of the harvest moon and a werewolf are keeping people away. Can the Aldens get to the bottom of who—or what—is causing such a stir?

The Legend of the Howling Werewolf

Mo O'Hara

Marek Jagucki

In the first of two stories, zombie goldfish Frankie is good at saving the day, but the medieval day reenactment joust may be too much, and in the second story, Tom’s evil brother clones a Jurassic carp, putting the school in danger.

Jurassic Carp

Angela McAllister

Christopher Corr

This treasury of 52 stories collects together a rich resource of myths, fairy tales and legends from around the world, with a story for every week of the year. The book is broken into 12 chapters, for each of the 12 months of the year, and throughout, stories are matched to internationally celebrated dates, including Valentines Day and the International Day of Friendship, as well as seasonal events and festivals. Collected and retold by award-winning author Angela McAllister, and illustrated by internally recognised artist Christopher Corr, this is a book that will be treasured by families and appeal to teachers and librarians around the world.

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