Diwali in My New Home

Diwali is Priya’s favorite holiday; she loves the bright colors, fireworks, traditional clothes, and spending time with family and friends. However, this year is different. Priya is not in India anymore, and here in the United States she notices that nothing is decorated. It isn’t festive, and no one seems to know about Diwali or be in the celebratory spirit. Priya is disappointed as she reminisces about past Diwalis in India and the cheerful time she spent with her friends at school.
At home though, Priya’s family is preparing for the holiday. Her mom is making sweets for Diwali, and they clean and decorate to invite the Goddess Lakshmi to their new home. Priya creates a rangoli, a rangoli being a pattern created out of sand outside the front of your home to bring luck and happiness. Priya is determined to celebrate the holiday even though it won’t be the same as past festivities in India.

Neighbors passing by notice the rangoli and the twinkling outdoor lights. Priya is very proud to share that today is Diwali, the festival of lights and a reminder of the victory of light over darkness. Priya and her dad invite all the neighbors to celebrate.

In the evening, Priya and her family dress in their traditional clothes for a prayer and puja. In simple language, Kaushik describes what a puja is and how the family performs the prayer. The author creates a lovely introduction to Diwali for young readers and a comforting representation of family traditions for familiar readers.
Soon the neighbors arrive, and, as Priya greets them and offers them sweets, their home is full of laughter. Priya realizes that it feels like Diwali as they eat together and light sparklers, celebrating Diwali in a new way in their new home.

Just like Diwali, the illustrations by Aishwarya Tandon are beautiful, bright and vivid. The facial expressions clearly show how Priya and her family feel and the details on each page perfectly mesh each aspect of the holiday with their being in America. The leaves on the ground indicate Fall, a season that doesn’t exist in India and the images show the different styles of homes in each country. The details on Priya’s salwar kameez, her mom’s sari and her dad’s kurta top, depict the rich, colourful embroidery and patterns on Indian clothing.