English Language Learners (ELL) teacher Harjit Chauhan recommends Maya & Neel’s India Adventure Series, Book 7: Let’s Celebrate Vaisakhi! Punjab’s Spring Harvest Festival by Ajanta Chakraborty and Vivek Kumar.
Let’s Celebrate Vaisakhi! Punjab’s Spring Harvest Festival by Ajanta Chakraborty and Vivek Kumar is a delightful story that captures the essence of Vaisakhi. Siblings Maya and Neel along with their pet squirrel, Chintu, travel to Punjab, India to visit their chacha (uncle) and chachi’s (aunt) farm. While helping out at the farm, the children learn about the harvest, Punjabi, food, bhangra, music, outfits, and Sikh traditions. Members of the community join in to help, and at the end of the day, they all celebrate with a Vaisakhi parade.
Weaved throughout the story is the recurring message that when people work together and help each other out, it boosts productivity and creates a happy atmosphere.
I love the beautiful examples in this story as my parents come from a farming background in Punjab and I grew up enjoying the colourful traditions of Vaisakhi. I recommend this story as a springboard for the study of the plant cycle, agriculture, spring festivals and local farming in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Vaisakhi takes place on April 13 or 14 annually. This year it falls on April 13, 2024.
Let’s Celebrate Vaisakhi! Punjab’s Spring Harvest Festival is available in SD42 libraries.
- Learn more about the festival with the Vaisakhi Virtual Classroom created by Yin Tsia with lessons plans provided by Kawaldeep Ghuman, Sukhdeep Birdi, Harjit Chauhan, and Jasmail Dhinsa (click the images to browse).
- Check out other books in the Maya & Neel series that highlight celebrations such as Diwali, Holi, Ramadan, Eid and more.
