Celebrate with me! Recipes, crafts, and holiday fun from around the world

This illustrated treasury of holidays shares personal stories, recipes, and crafts for families along with birthday celebration ideas from around the world. This compact yet expansive, scrapbook-style compendium starts with an overview of celebrations. A general note advises that the "recipes and activities in this book are designed for children and adults to do together," and contributors--among them authors S.K. Ali and Lesléa Newman, TV presenter Sonali Shah, and fashion designer Saeed Al-Rubeyi--are further outlined in the backmatter. The pages move mostly chronologically through the calendar year. Secular International Women's Day on March 8 is followed by the Hindu celebration of Holi, marked as taking place in "February or March," for example. Each entry includes a personal reflection from a contributor, a recipe, and an activity. The book offers opportunities for career exploration, as the contributors discuss their work in, for instance, garden design, basketry, and music. Use of cursive text may be difficult for some to read, though it is mixed in with typewriter font. The information is presented in an organized and welcoming manner. Some recipes have quick prep times, while others demand a larger investment. Among the activities, the open-ended "Make Your Own Altar" for Day of the Dead is balanced by exacting instructions for creating a woven heart for Valentine's Day. Bright, appealing illustrations feature a diverse group of people observing holidays. The ending suggests new beginnings, as questions are offered for kids to ask the people around them about the holidays they enjoy. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Builds curiosity through stories, activities, and questions. (Informational picture/activity book. 5-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.