Holidays of Spring by Amanda Sullivan on 01/17/2023
Genres: Children's
Pages: 26
Format: Paperback
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads
This spring, join the families from "Holidays of Spring" for a celebration of Easter, Passover, Holi, Nowruz, Ramadan, and more! Enjoy reading and learning with your little one about children from different backgrounds and what they each do to make this time of year so special.
Unlike other children's books, this story doesn't focus on just one holiday, or explain a handful at random. Instead, you can buy one book this holiday season and help give kids a better understanding of what their friends, classmates, and other children around the world celebrate at springtime each year.
Hardcover available at Barnes & Noble here
Paperback available on Amazon here
Julie’s Review:
I read Holidays of Spring with my 8 year old and he said the book was awesome and the pictures were mind-blowing! So good.
I agree, the illustrations were so beautiful and very detailed. The expressions on the kids faces were so fun to connect with.
It’s always great to learn about diversity and how many holidays are celebrated by people for each season. It was fun to read this rhyming story sharing some of the great holidays people enjoy in Spring.
While we typically do an egg hunt for Easter, I would love to see a Holi celebration and enjoy all the fun colors of the powders.
Guest Post: Memorable Moments of my Path to Publication by Amanda Sullivan
A memorable moment from my path to publication was officially finalizing my manuscript, which originally had two completely different versions with their own unique messages. My first version of Holidays of Spring is the format I decided to proceed with into the publication phase. If you’ve read it, you’ll know it follows four young children around at springtime, and you get a really special look into each of their different holiday traditions at that time of year, including Easter, Passover, Holi, and Nowruz. It’s light and cute while also being really informative, especially if you’re not usually exposed to a ton of diversity.
The second version of my manuscript explained more of the historical and cultural significance of the celebrations, which typically stems from the religious background of the holiday. For example, instead of seeing that Luca, one of the young children, celebrates Easter with chocolate bunnies and egg hunts, this version of my manuscript explained how this was the day Jesus rose. And instead of Robbie finding the hidden matzah at Passover, this version talks more about his family sharing stories of god’s protection. It touched on some of the modern day traditions, but for the most part it focuses on explaining how the holiday came to be.
I very much enjoyed learning about the different religious backgrounds of each of the holidays and I think I could have still found success and appreciation with the second version of my manuscript. I, however, made the personal decision to gear my story towards the fun, more modern day significance of the holidays. I felt it could be more unifying for people to read about different activities as opposed to making anyone feel like they were compromising their own beliefs, if any. And that’s essentially the goal of Holidays of Spring, to spread love, understanding, and acceptance at a time where we’re all celebrating different things in our own special way.
About the Author
Amanda Sullivan is the author of “Holidays of Spring” and in addition to her passion for writing, she also is an animal welfare advocate, outdoor enthusiast, and passionate about subjects related to neuroscience and world history. She took a step back from working in New York City’s corporate tech space to move to Colorado and focus on raising her new baby, Luca. She used some of her spare time to write something that would hopefully bring the world a little closer together.
Email: amanda.sullivan813@
Instagram: @seasonstocelebrate
