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Dev and Ollie Colour Carnival by Shweta Aggarwal

Dev and Ollie Colour Carnival – A Children’s Book by Shweta Aggarwal

 

We live in a global society yet children’s books rarely reflect Britain’s vibrant, multicultural population. In recent years, the lack of diverse characters in children’s literature has been brought to the forefront. Authors, parents and teachers alike are calling for more children’s books with lead characters of varied cultural and ethnic backgrounds to be published.

Despite this outcry for diversity, books and learning materials for children that handle multicultural topics with the understanding, sensitivity and whimsy needed to both educate and entertain are still rare.

Dev and Ollie Colour Carnival by Shweta Aggarwal

Dev and Ollie Colour Carnival by Shweta Aggarwal

For parents, carers and teachers looking to show their children the wonders of world outside their window, new children’s book Colour Carnival by Shweta Aggarwal is a must have.

Aggarwal’s Dev and Ollie series is aimed at teaching young children about festivals celebrated by different cultures around the world. The second book in the series, Colour Carnival, teaches children about the famous Hindu festival of colour, Holi.

Full of colourful and charming illustrations, the Dev and Ollie series follows the adventures of a young boy, Dev, and his best friend, Ollie, a wise old owl, as they learn about the traditions and cultures of countries around the world. A great way to teach children about other cultures, the series explains the cultural significance of the festivals with sensitivity, wit and simplicity. The stories are full of life lessons as well as cultural lessons, and are accompanied by fun filled facts to help answer any questions left lingering on inquisitive minds.

Celebrated every spring, Holi marks the triumph of good over evil and the start of the spring season. All over India and across the globe, Hindus mark the holy day with bonfires on the festival’s eve and throwing brightly coloured powdered paints and coloured water at each other during the day. A favourite with travellers and tourists, in recent years the festival has grown in popularity in the West with several colourful events inspired the festival taking place in the UK throughout the spring and summer months.

Modern, informative and funny, Dev and Ollie’s adventures allow children to see all the beauty and diversity the world has to offer. Speaking on her inspiration for creating the series, Aggarwal said: ‘as a mother of two young children and a British Indian, I am keen for my children to be global citizens, I’m forever exploring ways to impart cultural knowledge to them. I wanted to create characters that children could relate to and follow on a journey around the world. The series is inspired by my own sense of wanderlust that I want to instil in my own children. Festivals are a wondrous display of the all the best parts of a culture – the parts that bring people together to sing, celebrate, laugh and play just like children. The Dev and Ollie series are about the joy of Fest-Travel – travelling the world to see all the festivals on offer!’

Shweta Aggarwal

Shweta Aggarwal author of Dev and Ollie Colour Carnival and Kite Crazy

‘It was so inspiring to see how positively children reacted to Dev and Ollie in Kite Crazy, my first book. I want to add more to the series exploring famous festivals from around the world, such as the La Tomatina in Spain and The Snow and Ice Festival in China. There’s a magical world out there full of colour and culture! I created the Dev and Ollie series with the goal of helping children not only to read well, but also to be well read. I want to help add variety to children’s bookshelves and increase their understanding and appreciation of cultures and traditions outside of their own.’

Colour Carnival releases on 18th March 2016

The first book in the Dev and Ollie series Kite Crazy is available to purchase now on Amazon and at www.devandollie.com

Shweta Aggarwal's Krazy Kites

Characters from Shweta Aggarwal’s first book Kite Krazy