The Big Book of Festivals

Join us to celebrate festivals from all around the world. Kids and adults alike will adore this stunning illustrated collection of fantastic festivities, crazy celebrations and holy holidays, from graveside picnics to epic dance-offs, tomato-throwing frenzies, crying-baby competitions and the biggest bathing ritual on the planet.

Fantastic festivities, crazy celebrations and holy holidays

From tomato-throwing parties to graveside picnics, fire-walking ceremonies, crying baby competitions and the biggest bathing festival on Earth - this book introduces you to some of the world's most incredible cultural and religious celebrations.

Some festivals are outrageously fun and joyful, others are more serious. All of them bring people together to mark big events in life.

So join us in this riotous explosion of colour as we feast, sing, cry and celebrate the diversity of festivals and traditions this wonderful world of ours has to offer.

About the Authors

Joan-Maree Hargreaves is inspired by the bravery and optimism of children. She is driven by a desire to tell stories about 'real' life in a visually captivating and unexpected way. She has a special interest in social justice and representations of diversity. Joan-Maree has worked in publishing and magazines for more than a decade and has edited a number of Australian and international children's titles including National Geographic Kids (Australia and New Zealand), K-Zone (Australia) and Kraze Club (United Kingdom and Germany). She has also written hundreds of articles for The Sydney Morning Herald, including specialised educational supplements for children.

Marita Bullock has worked as an academic and secondary school teacher across the fields of Cultural Studies, Film, Art and Literature, most recently at the University of Sydney. She has published numerous articles on art and the visualisation of 'difference', and her academic book - Memory Fragments: Visualising Difference in Australian History - investigates the relationship between object fragments and cultural memory in Australian art, museums and culture (Intellect Ltd.)

About the Illustrator

Liz Rowland is a British Illustrator with a particular interest in people and cultures. Since graduating from Falmouth University in 2011, Liz has worked with clients including Vogue, Gourmet Traveller and Visit Britain. Liz's work is hand rendered, using a combination of gouache and watercolour. She is inspired by colour and pattern. Through her work Liz explores our interactions both with each other and with our environment.