The Light Within You - Perfect Picture Book Friday

We need more hope and kindness in our world, and this book offers up a light-filled heart and generous, inclusive spirit.

Text ©Namita Moolani Mehra Illustration ©Kamala Nair

DIYA WAS READY!
She was going to visit her grandma in India
for Diwali—THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS!
Diya hadn't seen Nani in a long time...
not since they moved from India.

Look at that body language. Sheer joy! I love the light of this little girl, Diya, from the opening image. She’s recently moved to a place where few kids look like her at school, and she doesn’t quite fit in. But she’s looking forward to seeing her Nani in India for Diwali, a festival her new friends know nothing about. She feels her difference even more when they wonder why she’s going away for three weeks.

When Diya finally arrives after a long journey (love how the author, Namita Mehra, measures the length of the journey in number of different vehicles used for travel), Nani greets her and her parents with a prayer bell and marigold necklaces. But Nani soon takes Diya shopping so they can prepare for the festival. They buy what they need to make special treats, prepare welcoming rangoli, light diyas, and dress up. During their preparations, Diya wonders if her friends might like some of the things they’re making or using to celebrate, something that the story will circle back to in the end.

I love how the illustrator, Kamala Nair, sprinkles tiny orbs of light in key places throughout the book. They tend to be associated with Nani and Diya’s generous spirits, the making of traditional foods, and loving exchanges between the pair. One of my favorite spreads shows Diya and her Nani all dressed up for the festival. Nani, in a flowing sari, and Diya, in a lehenga and matching dupatta, glow. Their bright bangles and other jewelry add even more sparkle to their faces and arms. And there is so much movement in their bodies and clothing, they look like they’re dancing with joy.

When the festival is over, Diya knows that she will soon return home, and feels like her joyful light at being with her Nani is dimming. At this point. Diya and her Nani have a heart-to-heart, and Nani revisits a conversation the two had earlier, extending it one step more, saying that Diya’s light is her own “special spark” and that it will bring her joy and brighten the world around her. When Nani gives Diya a box of diyas to take home with her, she tells Diya to spread her love and light wherever she goes.

Diya does just that when she returns to school and shares her experience of Diwali with her classmates. Yay for coconut laddoos and bangles!

The luminous illustrations set in India are gorgeous! And I love the intergenerational bond between Diya and her Nani. It it truly special. I never knew my grandmothers, and I found myself wishing I’d had some kind of experience with them that was like this, too. Truly a special book!

Activities:

Watch this video about Diwali, narrated by Yale and Princeton University’s Hindu chaplains.

Make No-cook Coconut Laddoos

Craft a paper diya

Check out these other Diwali crafts for kids