Multicultural: Lights for Gita by Rachna Gilmore

This book is about a little girl named Gita and her family celebrating a Hindu tradition called Diwali. As she walks home from school with her fireworks in her bag she hopes that it doesn't rain. From the pictures I could tell that it was cold outside and it might snow. This would be good book to have students practice inference with. The teacher could ask the students what holiday her family is going to celebrate or what season it is outside. Before the author says what they are celebrating I thought she was waiting for the Fourth of July. The book has both English and Chinese translations which I thought was very neat. When I first glanced through the book, I figured it was about a Chinese family, but clearly it wasn't. I like how the author tries to share this culture with kinds of races and not just Americans. The purpose of the festival is to fill the darkness with light, but they normally celebrate by lighting fireworks and listening to her grandmother tell tails about their past. When all of Gita's friends call to inform her that they will not make it due to the weather, she quickly saddens. Gita wishes that she was back with her grandmother and enjoying the nice weather. Her mother, which she calls "Mum" insists that she continues to celebrate Diwali and carry on to light the candles and diyas. The entire house lights up and as soon as she finishes the lights flicker off. As she sits by the window and watches the icy rain, she notices a car driving down the road slowing down right in front of her building. When she goes to door, it is one of friends, Amy. To her surprise, Amy wasn't the only thing in her sight. Her entire yard is lit up due to the diyas that was lit in her home. Her heart lit up as she saw the light on the ice. This was a great book and I wouldn't hesitate to use it in my classroom.