From Booklist
This entry in the new Holidays and Celebrations series presents a welcome worldview of various atonement days, headlined by Lent, Yom Kippur, and the Buddhist holiday Rains Retreat (Ramadan, more focused on renewal than atonement, has its own book in this same series). Although there is a wider coverage of Lent than the other two, each gets an introduction to its associated religion, a brief history of the holiday, and a rundown of the significant days, rituals, and practices of observation. Then, readers are treated to a trip around the world, with multiple stops in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, and Oceania, to investigate the unique ways in which different cultures observe similar holidays. The layout is text-dominated but dotted by colorful quality photos and a few informational insets. A good choice to help explain the significance behind holidays that already may be a part of children’s lives and also to introduce them to their worldwide counterparts, illuminating the many similarities lurking beneath cultural and religious differences. Grades 5-8. --Ian Chipman
