Celebrate Onam With Me!

My daughter and I absolutely loved 'Celebrate Onam With Me.' We have been waiting for a picture book on Onam for a few years now. We have loved and enjoyed 'Celebrate Durga Puja With Me' by the same author, Shoumi Sen. This book is written in joyous rhyme and is illustrated beautifully. We loved the story of Mahabali, but that's not all that there is in the book. We get a slice of Onam in Kerala - the Vallamkali snake boats, the tiger dancers during Pulikali, the women performing Kaikottikali, the gorgeous pookalam, the delicious sadya, the food and the clothes. What a sumptuous book this is and such a treat for book lovers. We absolutely loved the Onam glossary at the back too. An absolute must-read picture book to immerse themselves in the beauty and significance of Indian festivals. The bonds of family are also celebrated in the book and this is something that children and parents will truly treasure.

A book on Onam - the harvest time festival of Kerala was something we always wanted! It was a pleasure to read Shoumi Sen’s ‘Celebrate Onam with Me’ with my daughter.Written beautifully in the author’s poetic style , the story takes us through all the cultural elements of Onam! Being a partial Keralite myself, I loved all the attention to detail in the book - from the Pookolams to the Onasadya to the Vallamkalli! The book also has an Onam dictionary at the end - Very thoughtful indeed!And finally we loved the colourful illustrations that add a great flavour to the rhythmic verses and being the story aliveHighly recommended!

I am always looking for books that introduce Indian festivals and culture to my son, and this one has everything I want. Onam is close to my heart because I grew up studying in a Malayali school where it was celebrated with pomp. And so when I read this book, it took me back to all the childhood memories. I love the rhythm, rhyme and poise in the words that make the story of Onam interesting to young readers. What I particularly liked was that it covered the history of why we celebrate the festival as well as it tells us about the current traditions. The illustrations are brilliant, too. Definitely recommend it.

I read "Celebrate Onam With Me" to my three year old daughter. Both of us really enjoyed this book. It's a beautiful book to know the story behind the national festival of Kerala - Onam. The illustrations are really beautiful and vibrant. The cultural significance, celebrations and mythology related to the festival is nicely captured. I particularly loved the glossary at the end, where the writer has given the pronunciations of Malayalam words. A really good book for toddlers and kids.

Nice book about the festival of kerala - onam. It is well illustrated and kids will love it . Definitely recommended

A delightful book and a definite must buy for parents looking to gift their children a book and provide an easy and entertaining lesson on Indian culture. The book starts with why Onam is celebrated and moves on to the rituals accompanying it. I did not know many of them. So, a learning for me too! Lovely illustrations as well.

This book is so fun and engaging for kids and adults to understand the significance behind Onam and how it is celebrated! Loved the rhyme and rhythm which convey the information so simplistically and charmingly. Illustrations are bright and detailed and my daughter was interested through out! A wonderful medium for kids to understand and appreciate Indian festivals.Now I want to pick up other books in the series!

Unlike most mythological stories about the victory of good over evil, Onam celebrates the poignant story of the goodness and humility of a human king that humbled even the gods. The story is intriguing, and Riya tells it with the simple straightforwardness of a child. Her enthusiasm is contagious and sure to get your kids all excited about the festival. The illustrations are colorful and lively.

Books celebrating Indian festivals like Onam are rare to find. I grew up celebrating Onam, and I was thrilled to find a book to teach my kids about the mythology and the traditions of Onam, especially one that is researched and illustrated so beautifully. I loved the poem format and enjoyed sharing it with my kids while reminiscing the celebrations of my childhood - with the pookalams, kaikottikalis, vallam kalis and yummy sadyas. The glossary at the end a great idea - I can imagine it helps those who haven't grown up around this festival and don't know what some of these terms mean or how they are pronounced. THANK YOU for writing such a wonderful book about underrepresented festivals of India!

My children and I really enjoyed this book. We learned a lot about Onam and we really enjoyed the fact that Shoumi Sen weaves both mythology and the contemporary so skillfully. My 4 year old appreciated the rhyming couplets while my 9 year old found the detailed cultural anthropology fascinating. The dictionary at the back helps when it comes to unfamiliar words. Rudra Bose’s illustrations are absolutely on point. There’s just enough detail to be interesting and provoke questions while still following along with the text and girding it altogether. We did not know very much about Onam to begin with but by the end, we felt like we had a good grasp over the intricacies of the festival. All in all, really fun and really educational.

Fantastic book, really nicely written

Loved everything about this book.I routinely look for books that provide insights into our Indian traditions. And it's not easy to find the ones that make it fun! But I am so glad that I discovered this series. This book like all the others by this author makes it so fun to learn about various festivals.Everything from the content to the delivery is amazing. And I feel that the USP of this book is the combination of the rhymes and illustrations. This combination creates such an impact that as we read, we can “see” activities in action.The best part - my 6-year old loves this book and was as enthusiastic to read it the 10th time as she was the 1st time.After Holi, Durga Pooja, and Onam, we are eagerly waiting for Diwali 😊.

Onam is a festival close to our hearts and we have been so excited about this book since we first heard about it.My daughter loved this book and have been talking all about it to her grand parents and cousins!It is well written & beautifully illustrated and helped her understand how Onam is celebrated in Kerala in its true spirit. It was so detailed that it brought back a lot of childhood memories of celebrating Onam back home. We also loved the Onam dictionary at the end.The book made such an impact on her that we went ahead and bought the other two books from the series as well.Great book for kids!