Lights for Gita [Paperback]

Rachna Gilmore (Author), Alice Priestley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

Gita has recently moved to America from India, and she is looking forward to celebrating Divaliher favorite holidaywith her family. She has invited some of her new friends from school to join in the festivities, but a winter storm puts a damper on her plans. Just as Gita decides she hates her new home, events take another turn. Beautifully illustrated with warm, radiant paintings. AWARD: Pick of the List (American Bookseller, 1995)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her new home in the West, far from the warmth and familiarity of her native New Delhi, Gita anticipates celebrating the Hindu festival Divali-"Fireworks, lots of them-that's what Divali was all about." Surely such a light show will dispel the November gloom. But as Gita prepares for the holiday, "needles of ice stung the windows." In the freezing rain expectations turn to disappointments. Friends cancel their visits and, even more grievously, Papa must postpone the fireworks. As the girl compares the day with her memories of joyfully observed traditions, Mummy reminds her, "Divali is really about filling the darkness with light. Fireworks can't do it for us. We must do it ourselves." After they light the diyas (small pots of mustard oil) at each window, the storm causes an electrical failure, and Gita's home seems the only place of light in the vast darkness. The unexpected splendor of ice and dancing light gives Gita a meaningful new perspective. Accompanied by Priestly's soft, warm-hued watercolors, Gilmore's smooth prose and thoughtful imagery invite readers into Gita's not-so-foreign world. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-8. In a picture-book first published in Canada, an immigrant child from India celebrates the Hindu holiday of Divali for the first time in her new home. An introductory note describes the holiday as a festival of lights celebrated with sweets, parties, storytelling, and fireworks. In the November gloom of her new apartment, Gita longs for her extended family in New Delhi and the warmth she's left behind. She cries when an ice storm knocks out the power in all the buildings on her street; but with her parents and her best friend, she lights the diyas for the festival, and she comes to see that the lights of Divali can beat the darkness outside and the sadness within. Priestley's delicately shaded illustrations in bright colors show an Indian child and her family making a home. Words and pictures weave the particular holiday traditions into a universal story of disappointment and hope. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884481514
• ISBN-13: 978-0884481515
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.4 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,079,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good to read to school. Nice introduction., May 3, 2002

By 

Lady "lady-in-nj" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lights for Gita (Paperback)

A nice story with illustrations although it does not give the kind of detail that my children & I crave. I paraphrased it, using the pictures, for a group of 3 - 6 year olds at school and they liked it. An easy introduction to Diwali for them. Then I showed them a few things, including a clay oil lamp and we had Indian sweets. For pictures of a more traditional celebration and those details, use the 2 page spread in "Children Just Like Me: Celebrations!".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dispelling our Darkness: Lights For Gita, March 10, 2007

By 

Just One More Book! Children's Book Podcast "... (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lights for Gita (Paperback)

This carefully crafted tale of homesickness and hope combines the universal experience of long-awaited plans foiled by weather with the grief of a young girl pining for her far off home. This book leaves us with the powerful insight that its up to each of us to fill our darkness with light.