Saturday, December 19, 2009

Live, Laugh, Celebrate




National Geographic Live, Laugh, Celebrate

By: Ferdinand Protzman
Published by: National Geographic
Recommended Ages: 5 and up

I fully intended in the beginning of December to write about books that would make great gifts. And now here it is December 20, Hanukkah is over; Christmas is in five days, and not one post on "gift books." But all is not lost. For Hanukkah, I gave my 16-year-old daughter a new book from National Geographic, which she loves and which I think is worth writing about.

live, laugh, celebrate is a book about the many ways we celebrate life. It's mostly photographs, with small amounts of text explaining the ritual celebrations. There are shots from around the world, from the last fifty plus years.

The introduction begins: "At any given moment, like love, celebrations are an integral part of the human experience, practiced by every culture on the planet. Whether it is birth, birthday, graduation, victory in sport or battle, or a rite of passage, regardless of the country, the occasion, the place, the time, the number of participants, or the ceremony, human beings everywhere celebrate."

The book is divided into three chapters: Cycles of Life, Around the World and Life of the Party. Protzman writes an essay about each one of the chapters, which provides an interesting bit of background to what lies ahead. But, let's be honest, you buy a National Geographic book for the photos, and live, laugh, celebrate does not disappoint. There are 150 full-cover images from around the world.

For instance, in Cycles of Life, there are photographs of newborn babies from as far away as Eritrea, Senegal and Lithuania, swaddled with love as they are welcomed into the world. Childhood is celebrated across the globe with scenes ranging from boys in ceremonial skirts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo going off to a hunting camp to a Mexican-American girl celebrating her quinceanera in California. There are wedding celebrations from Kenya to India to Las Vegas (the cover photo of a bride in pink high-tops).

The pictures are lush and engrossing. You can't help but be drawn into their world, whether it is thousands of miles away, next door or fifty years ago.

If you have a child who yearns to see the world and how people live in other places, this would make a wonderful gift. Books like this and Material World, open up our eyes to the wonders that exist in and outside of our communities.

5 comments:

Abby said...

Thanks for posting about this one - I will definitely check it out!

Robin Gaphni said...

Hi Abby,
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Robin

Lubna said...

Happy holidays, Robin. Thanks for all the efforts you put into your blog, I love visiting it. Wishing you and your loved ones a great 2010.

Teresa said...

Hi Robin!
My name is Teresa!
I popped over from Tamara's blog!
I too live on Bainbridge Island!
We moved to Bainbridge from Alabama last summer!
I think your blog about Children's Literature is a fabulous idea!
I too adore Children's Books!
Have collected them for years!
At the moment...they are ALL boxed up!
I taught Kindergarten and First Grade before moving to Bainbridge! I boxed up many of my books to bring..just in case I teach again! I miss my books!
One of my favorites...
I always read the first day of school...is...
I Like Me...Nancy Carlson!
Delighted to meet you!
XXOOXX

Robin Gaphni said...

Thanks for popping over, Teresa. And welcome to Bainbridge Island! Perhaps we'll meet some day in the produce section at T & C.

Happy New Year!