Raashi's Rakhis: A New Celebration of Raksha Bandhan

by Sheetal Sheth, Lucia Soto (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrate Raksha Bandhan in a totally new way! Little Raashi is ready to update this popular South Asian festival with her idea that both boys and girls get to trade rakhi bracelets.

Raksha Bandhan is Raashi’s favorite festival! Every year, her family comes together to dance, eat, and celebrate! Most importantly, siblings give out rakhis—beautiful handmade bracelets meant to provide protection in all of their advetures.

But rakhis are traditionally only given to boys! Raashi doesn’t like that. . . . Why don’t girls receive rakhis too? Why do some people think that only boys go out into the world? Now it's up to Raashi to inspire the change she imagines.

Sheetal Sheth, award-winning actress and author of the Anjali series, delivers another empowering story of a young girl bold enough to start her own traditions and blaze a trail toward inclusivity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593707289
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/09/2024
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sheetal Sheth is an award-winning actress, producer, author, and activist. She is also the author of the Always Anjali picture-book series and Making Happy. She is known for her provocative performances in a wide range of film and TV roles and for being a fierce advocate of traditionally marginalized communities. She is one of the founders of the nonprofit For the Love of Reading, served in AmeriCorps, and is currently on the board of SAYA and the advisory board of Equality Now. She has had op-eds published on CNN, The Daily Beast, Parents.com, and Thrive Global. Although she was told she’d have to change her name to work, her successful career has trailblazed paths for other women of color across media. Visit her at sheetalsheth.com.

Lucia Soto was born in Spain and is now based in London. She aims her brushes at giving voice to the stories we all need to hear, creating powerful characters with relatable families and strong communities, and surrounding them with colorful worlds lit with the Mediterranean light of her childhood. Visit her at luciasoto.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/20/2024

A resourceful protagonist expands a gendered ritual in this straightforward picture book. Raksha Bandhan, a festival about honoring families, is a favorite of bespectacled Raashi. But when her younger brother Tejas insists Raashi adhere to the holiday’s gendered guidelines, she questions Mama’s explanation: that traditionally, sisters tied rakhis—bracelets symbolizing protection—on to their brothers, because it once wasn’t thought that girls should do as much as boys. Raashi, whose big dreams include piloting planes, coaching a baseball team, and being president, wonders “if the idea was to protect the people you loved, why didn’t the girls get rakhis, too?” Traditionalists may balk at Sheth’s reinterpretation of a beloved Hindu ritual, but the direct narrative provides opportunity for a more inclusive celebration. Soto’s digital palette of gold, green, and pink portrays wide-eyed characters in domestic scenes. All characters cue as South Asian. Ages 4–8. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"A gendered ritual in this straightforward picture book....provides opportunity for a more inclusive celebration." —Publishers Weekly

"The book includes timely twists that can bring traditions up to date for today's kids, along with a nod to girl power!" —Booklist

From the Publisher

2024-04-20
A South Asian girl named Raashi and her little brother, Tejas, eagerly await the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan.

On this day, sisters tie bracelets called rakhis to their brothers’ and male cousins’ wrists. At breakfast, Raashi wonders why only girls tie rakhis on boys. Her mother tells her that traditionally “sisters tied rakhis on their brothers as a symbol to protect them as they went into the world. Back then, they didn’t think girls should be doing as much as boys.” Raashi doesn’t think this is fair, since she has plenty of aspirations herself, and she tells Tejas, “You should look out for me, too!” Later, at the festival, when Tejas gets stuck in a tree, Raashi comes to his rescue. A grateful Tejas wants to tie a rakhi to Raashi’s wrist, to protect her as she protected him. They decide to start a new tradition in which boys andgirls can give their siblings and cousins rakhis. Though the premise—putting a gender-inclusive spin on a beloved custom—will appeal to many, the writing is often stiff and may leave readers with the misleading impression that rakhis are meant to protect boys as they venture out into the world. In fact, the bracelets traditionally symbolize boys’ willingness to safeguard their female relatives. Still, the vivid illustrations fairly explode with color and detail, creating a fun backdrop; characters are depicted with a variety of brown skin tones.

A stilted attempt to put a twist on a time-honored tradition, elevated by charming visuals. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews