Part 4/4 Where the Story Lives: Happy Hippotastic Holi! Behind-the-Book Series
If the first three parts of this series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) explored why this book was created and how its bilingual, consent-informed design took shape, this final part steps away from the drafting table and into the spaces where children actually meet the story. These are the rooms where culture is shared, language grows, and children begin to understand themselves inside celebrations.
Natasha, our amazing illustrator of Happy Hippotastic Holi! How to Celebrate with Consent and the creative behind Bright & Blue Studio states it simply yet powerfully:
"This book takes a festival centered around gathering and collective energy, and brings the focus to individuals within that, highlighting that while we all want to celebrate and honor tradition, we have different preferences, and that should be respected. It’s a topic that can not only be discussed during most holidays and festivals, but within our daily lives, especially when diversity has been reduced to stereotypes, and inclusivity has become more exclusive."
The hippos become our gentle guides for this. Playful and familiar, they help bring into focus how to celebrate Holi with color, kindness, and care.
Cross-cultural classrooms where celebration meets belonging
Watching is also a way of belonging.
With spring, Holi often arrives as a burst of color. Beautiful, joyful, exciting. Yet children may find themselves wondering quietly:
What does joining look like for me?
How do I know when I am ready?
Is watching also a way of belonging?
Happy Hippotastic Holi! gives children language for these questions without ever naming them outright. The story shows hippos who ask before splashing, hippos who watch, and hippos who say no, thank you.
Celebration and consent sit side by side, and belonging does not depend on matching someone else’s enthusiasm.
This framing resonated strongly with ARC readers.
One parent from a multilingual family shared that the book “goes beyond just introducing Holi and opens up conversations about kindness, empathy, and respecting boundaries during any celebration.” A Pre-K educator, noting the lack of age-appropriate Holi books, echoed that the story “creates space to talk about how different children experience the same celebration differently.”
For teachers, the book becomes a soft doorway into reflection. Not a curriculum, but a moment of noticing. How children choose to participate. How comfort shifts during a celebration. How kindness makes room for difference.
A single question after reading is enough:
“What does celebrating Holi feel like for you?”
As one parent and educator who frequently shares Holi with her class reflected, “It helped me realize that a celebration I’ve always experienced as joyful could feel overwhelming to others.” That awareness is where empathy begins.
In Hindi homes and language classes where language carries memory
The goal is not mastery, but familiarity.
For bilingual families, the story offers something more intimate. Hindi can often travel with hierarchy, shaping how children learn who speaks, who agrees, and who yields.
This book gently loosens that pattern and gives children language to honor and hold boundaries.
A Hindi-speaking parent and educator noted the richness of the vocabulary, while also observing the use of everyday language that both entertains and educates.
ARC readers repeatedly named this as a strength. One parent shared that “consent felt like an extension of kindness rather than a rule being taught.” Another noted that “PAUSE. ASK. PLAY! makes teaching consent easier and more concrete for young children.”
For multilingual families, the bilingual design also became a bridge. A parent shared that “the bilingual design allows even older generations who are more comfortable in Hindi to read with their children.” A K–2 librarian observed that “seeing Hindi in the book feels affirming and exciting for children who speak it at home.” Even non-Hindi readers found an entry point, with one illustrator and author noting that “the lettering works as art and invites curiosity.”
In Hindi classrooms, this opens space for gentle language conversations. Children can notice the shapes of Devanagari, the patterns of sound, and the relationship between Hindi and English. The goal is not mastery, but familiarity. A sense that both languages can hold them with care.
When the story moves beyond the book
Block printing a Madhubani-inspired rangoli pattern from the book, with the help from my seven-year old.
My work as a writer and publisher does not stop at children’s books.
As a storytelling-led publisher and a mom who uses multisensory learning at home, I am always looking for ways to bring stories off the page and into children’s hands, bodies, and everyday experiences.
That might look like experimenting with foam block printing at home, art direction joyfully led by my seven-year-old, recreating a Madhubani-inspired rangoli pattern from Happy Hippotastic Holi! It might also look like bringing these same crafts into in-person storytelling workshops, where children explore pattern, repetition, and cultural motifs through making.
This philosophy is woven into the book itself. Textile, pattern details, and musical instruments from across South Asia are intentionally layered throughout the illustrations. Several ARC readers mentioned how much joy these cultural details brought them. The printables and back matter follow the same approach.
A Search and Find Textile printable invites children to slow down, look closely, and follow their curiosity. Younger children enjoy the act of searching itself. Older children and adults can draw their own inspired designs.
Or start with the Hippo Headband Craft, then move into guided Color Dot Sticker Holi Play so kids can act out the story together. It’s a low-prep yet interactive way to reinforce consent language, boundaries, and joyful participation after the read-aloud.
Make your own Hippo Headband craft
Coloring pages invite children to linger. Name That Musical Instrument encourages children to identify diverse instruments through descriptions of shape and sound. The Hippo-Approved Behaviors for a Happy Hippotastic Holi! mini zine offers gentle prompts around participation and boundaries. The book itself includes introduction to Holi and encourages STEAM exploration through making your own Holi colors and preparing banana pua.
These are not just nice to have. They are designed as additional entry points. Different ways for different children to find themselves inside the story and the celebration of Holi.
Hippo-approved behaviours for a Happy Hippotastic Holi mini zine
A story that helps children locate themselves inside celebrations
Across homes and classrooms, Happy Hippotastic Holi! is not meant to tell children what to do. It is meant to give them a kind vocabulary, in two languages, to understand themselves inside a festival that often moves quickly and brightly around them.
As one children's librarian shared, “This book reframes Holi not just as a festival of color, but as a celebration of choice, care, and respect.”
The book reminds children that there are many true ways to celebrate. Big and small. Loud and quiet. With color or without. With Hindi or English or both. With certainty, curiosity, or caution.
The joy of culture grows when every child, in every setting, feels seen, safe, and free to choose their own way of joining.
Happy Hippotastic Holi! helps illustrate how we gather, how we celebrate, and how we honor differences together.
Explore the story behind the series.
Happy Hippotastic Holi! How to Celebrate with Consent is now available. See instructions to place your order below.
A set of six mindful Holi print-and-go activities for classrooms, libraries, and families.
🖨️ Download Happy Hippotastic Holi! Printables Pack here.
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