“An enticing look at harvest rituals, foods, and festivities” – Kirkus Reviews People as far back as anyone's known have gathered to give thanks for food we have grown. Celebrate harvest festivals from 12 cultures around the globe! Immerse young readers in some of the most ancient traditions in the world from rice harvests in India to friendly food fights with tomatoes in Spain. This book showcases diverse global traditions and the shared joy of gathering nature's bounty. Features harvest festival from: South Korea, Poland, India, Bolivia, Ghana, Barbados, Morocco, Liberia, Iran, Spain, Germany - Pronunication guides and inset boxes with more information on each page encourage further learning - Nine pages of educational endnotes dive deep with more information about the 12 cultures explored in the book - Invites young readers to ask questions about food and the labor that produces it Gr 1-3-This picture book includes the harvest celebrations of 11 countries from around the world. Each page contains four rhyming sentences that introduce a festival to readers. The name of the festival is given in the language of the culture, and then a pronunciation is provided. A window in the bottom corner of each spread provides a detail or fact. The simple style of the illustrations gives cultural uniqueness to each group, while still achieving a unified effect: what the people are wearing, eating, making, and doing is showcased in each selection. Back matter contains a calendar of all the festivals featured, information about harvest season presented in a Q&A format, questions for readers, and more detail about each event. Library shelves are full of books on this topic; this one is different because it discusses celebrations in countries that are not typically represented, such as Iran and Liberia, and the illustrations provide accurate details that will engage young readers and facilitate interesting discussion. VERDICT The combination of harvest celebrations that occur in different countries at different times of the year makes this book distinctive and worth purchasing.-Peggy Henderson Murphyα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. “An enticing look at harvest rituals, foods, and festivities” – Kirkus Reviews “The combination of harvest celebrations that occur in different countries at different times of the year makes this book distinctive and worth purchasing” – School Library Journal “A look at rituals practiced and food served during harvest holidays globally” – Publishers Weekly “A useful multicultural addition to classroom units on harvests and Thanksgiving” – Booklist “A series of eye-pleasing, digitally rendered double-page spreads depicts twelve different holiday traditions around the world” – The Horn Book Magazine Kate DePalma was born and raised outside Nashville, TN, USA. As Senior Editor at Barefoot Books, she has helped develop dozens of picture books, as well as authoring her own, including those published under her pseudonym, Sunny Scribens. She holds an M.A. in Classics from the University of Texas and is also a published poet and scholar. Kate lives with her husband and daughter in Pennsylvania, USA. Martina Peluso has wanted to be an illustrator ever since she read The BFG by Roald Dahl when she was young. After growing up in Tuscany and Naples, Italy, she studied Art of Printing at the Institute of Art in Naples and has taken illustration courses at Sarmede and Pavia. She has worked in all areas of illustration, including advertising, packaging, editorial and design; her artwork has been exhibited throughout the world. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.