Miss Brigette’s Tattooed Lady

July 28, 2009 by Minnie

Miss Brigette’s Tattooed Lady is on my wishlist as is her coyote and crow having a picnic print.

I just went on a bender buying kids books for my kid that I remember having growing up. For instance Richard Scary’s Busy Busy World. I swear I had chills looking at the illustrations. The ghost in the castle of mice? the Egyptian coffin?!

I bring that up just because looking at her illustration style reminds me of kids book illustrations in the way that makes me feel like I want to swing super high and jump off and fly through the air. I hope she does illustrate a kids book. I was reading n interview with Maurice Sendak recently where he described the kids book illustration game circa Where the Wild Things Are as a crazy-ass free for all. Ah, those were the days.

Oh, she also has a blog here.

UPDATED: Oh I just realize that she is the woman who designed the cute cat Swarovski Crystalc ommercial! You can watch it here.

Have you read?

Book Review: The Festival of Lights

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.