A French Girl Giveaway….

Well, not technically a French Girl, but Kristeen Griffin-Grimes uber cool, French Girl Knits book!

Need some criteria here….. ok, how about this….. your favorite needles!

Mine? Well, thanks for asking. I almost always knit with circulars. Why? Because my old arthritic hands and wrists from years and years of farming feel better when the weight of the knitting rests on my lap and not supported by my hands and wrists at the end of a large needle. So, unless I’m doing something that requires double points (yes, I’ve tried the Magic Loop and 2 Circular needle methods, prefer the double points) I’m all about the circular needles! I have the Denise set that I love, but also some bamboo circs which are awesome.

Yours? What are your favorite needles and why? A copy of this book depends on it!

Oh, and you can get a copy of this book, if you don’t win it here, published by Interweave Press, here:

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?