More Info From GAS – Resources from their Newsletter

Oben Albright

The most recent newsletter is full of information that needs to be passed on to my raders. There’s a bit of show info…video info…and a hot shop in France. Let’s go!! Let’s start with the 8th Annual Ugly Necklace Contest put on by Land of Odds in Nashville, TN. Check out their web site for more info @ www.landofodds.com. You’ll need to come up with something really “special”. The deadline is March 15, 2010. First prize is a $992.93 shopping spree on their website. Not bad…

Past entry to Ugly Necklace contest

Now let’s go to France to cleanse ourselves a bit…there’s a hot shop for rent in France. Hot damn!! It’s at Luniverre Gallery in Cordes Sur Ciel. For info…www.luniverre.com. So if you’re going to France and need to make some glass…

And the last thing for this post…The Zen of Flameworking, You Tube video’s by Debbie Tarsitano. She’s created a series of videos that give how to’s on flameworking and its meditative qualities. Check it out. And if you haven’t become a member of the Glass Art Society you should…

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?