We Celebrate the Light

by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple, Jieting Chen (illustrator)

A celebration of seven different winter holidays observed in the US and the traditions that unite them all.

Diwali, Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, and Lunar New Year are visually depicted in turn, accompanying a stunning, read-aloud text that speaks of the traditions that link them all together. The warm yet accurate imagery is explained in simple secondary text on each spread, and further in the backmatter. Beloved author Jane Yolen and daughter, author Heidi Stemple, have crafted a loving and poignant story with true reverence for our shared traditions of celebrating light, love, food, and family. An empowering, informative, and inclusive holiday book for families of all traditions.

Genres: Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Nonfiction, Christmas, Cultural, Family

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 8, 2024

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intentional picture book about how people all over the world celebrate different holidays in the cold dark months, gathering together to honor their culture and beliefs, share in food and traditions, and look forward to brighter days ahead. Surprisingly good disability rep, and more in-depth explanations of different holidays and events are included at the back.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introductory story of many holidays that celebrate light in the winter time. Would make a good story to read for lower elementary children or as a one-on-one story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really sweet book, and I especially appreciated the variety of body shapes and sizes portrayed, which is so rare in children's books.

[Jan46 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful message, excellent layout and illustrations and language is easily accessible. The book gives great insight without being preachy. It’s a gem of a book.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This nonfiction book briefly introduces seven of the numerous winter holidays celebrated worldwide, including three with fixed dates (Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa) and four moveable feasts based on the lunar calendar (Diwali, Bodhi Day, Chanukah, Lunar New Year). Some children might be surprised by the description of Christmas, which does not include Santa Claus, his famous team of reindeer, and his magical sack full of presents. Additional information about each celebration is included in the appendix, but a selected bibliography would have been a welcome addition for further reading about each holiday and its origins, significance, and traditions. Lackluster illustrations seem a bit drab for a book about the festive season of light.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…we wake to a lighter day, a bigger heart,
and a world that holds us together once again.
We celebrate the light.”

Our holidays may vary, the roots of our traditions are very much shared. Whether you observe Diwali,
Winter Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, or Lunar New Year, you celebrate light!

I love the message of unity and that we are all celebrating our culture and our families and our communities. They are all special and unique and it’s wonderful to learn about how different people live. It’s so important that we have culturally diverse human experiences as we all share this world.

The diversity and representation in this book is amazing and the illustrations capture humanity so beautifully. The celebrations include representation of gender, race, lifestyle, disability, different shapes, and sizes, and there was even a darling service dog included!

“Many families celebrate holidays during the late fall and winter. While our traditions may vary, the light and love that we honor unites us all.”

DIWALI is the five-day Hindu celebration of light and the new year.

The WINTER SOLSTICE is the shortest day of the year, when the sun rises late and sets early, which is celebrated by many cultures around the world.

CHRISTMAS is the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ.

CHANUKAH is the Jewish celebration of a great miracle that happened a long time ago: Just a small bit of oil that was used to light lamps lasted eight whole nights.

KWANZAA is the weeklong celebration of African and African American culture and the unity of all Black people, living all over the world.

BODHI DAY marks the moment the Buddha found enlightenment after forty-nine days of meditation, and is celebrated by Buddhists as they slow down to enjoy inner peace and the natural world around them.

LUNAR NEW YEAR is an Asian celebration lasting for more than two weeks that begins at the start of a new year of moon cycles and ends with a Lantern Festival as the earth moves back toward the sun.

[TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian |Mrs. Ferraris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief summary: This nonfiction book describes seven winter holidays: Diwali, Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, and Lunar New Year. Each holiday is briefly explained in lyrical stanzas and illustrated with beautiful two-page spreads.

Comments: This would be a superb introduction for teachers to use for a winter holidays unit.

The illustrations were digitally created in Photoshop with a tablet.

It's important to note that at the beginning of the book, each holiday is named in the upper left corner of the page, followed by some factual information on the bottom right of the next page. However, halfway through the book, the pattern changes. While the text remains relevant to the illustrations, it shifts to a new format that emphasizes the connections between the holidays.

I appreciate the diversity in the illustrations, especially how they highlight family gatherings for celebrations.

Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗

[Ccaywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter holidays around the world bring light to the dark season. The overall theme of human unity across diverse cultures grants equal standing to each holiday. The text is very short and appropriate to a picture book audience but could use a little amplification in places: “Just a small bit of oil that was used to light lamps that lasted eight whole nights” hardly sounds like a great miracle. An end note provides a little more information about some of the visual elements like the ficus tree for Bodhi Day.
Jieting Chen’s paintings show families and communities engaging in traditional holiday activities for Diwali, the Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, and Lunar New Year. From late fall to early spring these celebrations employ lamps, candles, and lanterns to light the long nights. Subtly, the paintings also include some children with visible disabilities, a family with two fathers at Christmas, and people with diverse appearances.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, highly illustrated and lyrical look at seven different ways the late Fall and winter holidays are celebrated world wide—Bodhi Day, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Diwali, Lunar New Year, and Chanukah. Each holiday flows within the text from one to other reinforcing the similarities between them such as family, food, traditions, unity, joy and more.

A highly diverse resource for preschool through grades 3 and with the back matter elaborating on each of the holidays, maybe even older. Representation: so many cultures, skin tones and body types plus references to a variety of religions including Hindu, Christianity, Jewish and Buddhism. One family represented has two dads, their three children, the influence of grandparents as well as reflecting a blending of ethnic backgrounds.

Thanks for sharing a finished copy for review, Penguin Random House/Rise.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT by Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple

All around the world, celebrations welcome change of seasons, the days getting longer, warmth and life retuning (or in the southern hemisphere, shorter and cooler). Poised on the equinox, we acknowledge the wonders of our world and celebrate with feasting and togetherness. Whether Diwali, Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, or Lunar New Year, there is joy, love, and reflection on the years past and to come. This is a lovely invitation to join the parties, and the lovely illustrations by Jieting Chen add warmth and connection to our visit.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I believe they were trying to show overlap and similarities between mid-winter holidays around the world, but there was no consistency in how many pages a holiday received, or even where the holiday heading appeared, so I was left confused as to which brief and over-simplified description applied to which holiday. Some holiday practices were only illustrated and not described at all in the main text, and I couldn't always tell what was happening until the afterword gave a few more details. Finally, they include Lunar New Year, which isn't until February and has more in common with start of Spring festivals than midwinter holidays.

[Nicole Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

This beautiful book is all about the ways religion and cultures celebrate their own traditions but also are alike in their celebration of light. I love how respectfully each culture is handled, not one has preference or treated differently from the other. I love the diversity of people throughout, in race and the types of families represented. This is a wonderful book for teachers/schools or anyone wanting to teach their children that we might celebrate our own cultures but are all human beings celebrating life and light.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful book to start off the holiday season, sharing different observances by a variety of communities in the US. It reads a couple of ways: a lyrical tour, informative text blocks, or just admire the beautiful illustrations and mind the corner labels denoting which holiday (if you need them).

I can see this as being a great book to have in a classroom or any other community space--and one to help children see how rich and joyous the season is beyond their own observed holidays and traditions.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever noticed that winter holidays of all kinds revolve around a celebration of light? From Diwali to Christmas, Chanukah to Kwanza, Bodhi Day and Lunar New Year to Winter Solstice, there are a surprising number of commonalities between these celebrations. It is this fact, what we all have in common, that the words and illustrations of WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT highlight. A beautiful book about people coming together that will hopefully help future generations better understand the things we share, not just the ways we are different.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book serves as a fine introduction to seven different holidays, and the way they are celebrated by various cultures. It's a very interesting glimpse at the differences and similarities we share as we gather with family and friends for special occasions. With gorgeous illustrations by Jieting Chen.

[Sue Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always Jane has crafted a beautiful book along with her daughter Heidi. Jieting Chen’s illustrations are warm and inviting. That said, I’m disappointed that nothing was included to recognize any Islamic holidays such as Ramadan or Eid -ul-Fitr. Considering the large Muslim population we have in Michigan, this leaves a hole in the narrative.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in eloquent and simple text, celebrations around the world marking the return of light as the days grow from shorter to longer are highlighted. The warmth of friends and family, community, and religion are highlighted. Back matter gives more information on the different traditions. Illustrated by Jieting Chen.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This beautiful book explores various late fall and winter holidays and how hey are celebrated. the overall arc of the book shows people from different cultures all celebrating family, friendship and the light in the winter darkness. we may be different in so any ways, but essentially we are basically alike.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Due to the way the 2 pages for each holiday format switches after a few, this is more successful if you read the text the whole way through before going back to read the sidebar snippets about the various holidays. The diversity in body type and cultural representation was especially well-done in this book.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Diwal to Bodhi Day to Lunar New Year, this book celebrates seven holidays celebrated in the fall and winter months in the United States. This book embraces diverse representation, both in terms of the seven different holidays represented and the illustrations of culturally and racially diverse families.

[Alison N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and minimal text introduce young readers to many of the winter and year-end celebrations from around the world: Diwali, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day and Lunar New Year. The readers are introduced to each one, and the verses show us how they differ and how they are similar. A wonderful celebration of the winter season.

[GS Dachslove · Rating 5 out of 5]

An lyrical overview of all the different holidays that happen around the winter solstice. Just a few pages about each and how they celebrate family, light, and hope.

Good for teacher's collections.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Focused on sharing winter-ish holidays that "celebrate the light" encompassing Bodhi Day, Diwali, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanza, Chanukkah, and Lunar New Year.

Lovely illustrations that celebrate the warmth of these celebratory holidays with a few simple lines each connecting them all.

[Lannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief but inclusive introduction to global winter holidays, geared more for lower elementary grade levels. The diverse celebration of cultural holidays that also showed beautiful illustrations of mixed families of all kinds was a welcome message.

[Kim Hoang · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect for introducing new holidays and talking abt diversity with small kiddos! beautiful art and not a lot of text. each holiday gets a little blurb to explain what it is. my supervisor rly liked this one too when i showed her and she’s gonna use it for one of her storytimes too heh

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love having many traditions represented, but it’s only a couple lines describing each one in a poetic way. It makes for a very simple book, whereas I prefer more explanation & insight per celebration

[Tam I · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read an ARC

Nice explanation of winter holidays. Shows similarities between all of them.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC from Netgalley.

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like how it brings all these similar holidays together, especially those that don't get as much attention as others.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!