Rajani LaRocca has delivered a kind, curious, lush, loving story about uniqueness, math, and family bonds. I loved reading this aloud with my young daughter, who eagerly soaked up the exposure to a culture that was new to her. The book is gorgeously illustrated with a warm and welcoming color palette, inviting new perspectives, and folding in a celebration of individuality combined with family love. I cannot wait to gift this book to friends and we have already added this one to our personal library!

In Rajani LaRocca's new book, Bracelets for Bina's Brothers, we are introduced to Bina as her family is getting ready for the Indian holiday Rhaksha Bandhan. First of all, how cool is this holiday? It is a celebration of the love of siblings. Okay, I've read the parts that say it is gender biased due to brothers "protecting" sisters, but I'm just going to take it as a celebration of the bond. Bina has 3 brothers and she wants to make each of them a special bracelet with a pattern of beads in the colors that they like the most rather than buying them bracelets. She talks to each of them and gets beads and little charms that reflect who they are. A very sweet book for younger children.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* super cute book, liked the art and liked the learning!

1st Line: "Bina had three big brothers: Vijay, Siddharth, and Arjun."

Prose (Story): Raksha Bandhan is coming up, and to surprise her brothers young Bina wants to make each of them a special beaded bracelet incorporating their favorite colors. After a little snooping to determine which colors each brother likes or dislikes, Bina sets out to make each bracelet via a special pattern, discovering math can actually be fun along the way.

Don's (Review): There is a lot packed into this short picture book for kids - and that's meant in the best possible way, as author LaRocca incorporates the information in a way that never feels jammed together, much less like the reader is being taught. This is a Storytelling Math book, developed in cooperation with math experts at the STEM education nonprofit TERC, which shows children utilizing math and patterns in their everday lives in a positive - even fun - way, which Bina does here in trying to make the best beaded bracelets she can for her special gifts. It's very well-executed here, as the love Bina has for her older siblings shines through as well, so by no means is this "a book about math" and in fact feels anything but. Chaaya Prabhat's lush, brilliantly-colorful illustrations help to set mood and tone for both the story and the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandham, and to me anytime a children's book can teach me this much without it feeling like learning, said book deserves a place in any kid's library - in this case for its diversity/cultural value, alone. Very sweet. 4/5 stars

NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable little picture book! I loved getting to learn about Raksha Bandhan. I adore that the holiday is about the bond between siblings. I really liked the little bit of math that was introduced in this book. I especially loved that it was about patterns because that was my favorite when I was little!

Bina, our main character, wants to make bracelets for her three brothers for the upcoming Raksha Bandhan holiday. She has a special relationship with each brother and wants her gifts to reflect that. With the help of mom, and the family dog, Bina makes something incredibly special for her brothers.

This would be perfect for a school's culturally diverse library. Children will love to learn about this new holiday, and the illustrations capture the imagination. Will definitely recommend to our school's librarian.

This picture book is a must read for children. Not only this helps them with learning about patterns, it is a book based around an important Indian festival, Rakshabandhan, that celebrates the love of siblings.

Illustrations are super cute and I loved the colourful pallets. That perfectly symbolises how truly colourful the Indian culture is!

Definitely recommended for all kids. This would be a beautiful gift indeed.

This was a lovely story about a new to me Holiday. Raksha Bandhan is an Indian holiday that celebrates siblings. It is customary for sisters to give or make their brothers bracelets. Bina is finally old enough to make her bracelets instead of buying them, and she goes about quizzing her brothers to make sure they are perfect. This story was excellent. The vibrant illustrations will perfectly set off the tale and make for a fantastic introduction to new traditions.

This is a lovely story in its own right, before you even think about the maths element. It is the story of Bina, who wants to make bracelets for three brothers, as gifts for Raksha Bandhan. She has beads in three different colours and wants to use two colours for each bracelet. The story follows Bina as she works out how to design the bracelets so that each brother gets his two favourite colours.

I really liked the story and the explanation of Raksha Bandhan as well as maths activity ideas at the end were a perfect finish. I can see this book getting a lot of use in an EYGS/KS1 classroom in particular.

I loved this one! It ties together perfectly what an Indian festival celebrates and math, patterns, colors. I loved the colors and the sibling interaction and love!

“Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers” is a wonderful book! It is about Bina, who is making bracelets for her brothers for Raksha Bandhan. When the patterns in her bracelets get confusing and Bina messes up, she problem solves and changes the colors! This is a cute book about patterns in math and family. I highly recommend for younger readers!

Charming and delightful story of family and math! Love the beautiful illustrations and the words that take us through the story and Bina's efforts to make just the right bracelets for her brothers.

Normally holiday books are only read around the time of year of that event, but this author was clever in making it a story that children will cherish year-round. While it is a lovely story about Raksha Bandhan, and the love that these siblings hold for each other is precious, this book offers opportunities for children to engage with patterns. There are tips for parents at the back of the book to help children engage with identifying patterns both during the story and beyond. This interactive learning experience that will make children want to go through the book again and again to see what other patterns they can spot. Well done!

I'm always excited to see books celebrating cultural events and holidays, and I've really enjoyed the books in the Storytelling Math series so far. The story itself is pretty cute: Bina sets out to make bracelets for her brothers for Raksha Bandhan. She's asking them about their favorite colors and colors they don't like so she can make them bracelets they love. Where this book loses me is that it's supposed to focus on patterns, which are a necessary early math skill. I didn't feel like patterns were really the focus though. Bina decided on her pattern and stuck with it until just about the end of the book. It was more about her memory, trying to remember what colors her brothers had strong opinions about.

BRACELETS FOR BINA'S BROTHERS is a one-of-a-kind book in many ways. It celebrates Raksha Bandhan, a festival of love and bonding between siblings. As per tradition, the sister ties a bracelet on the wrist of her brother, and in return the brother promises to care for her all his life. Secondly, the book teaches the concept of patterns that has been cleverly woven into the story in a meaningful way. I also loved the idea of Bina and her brothers making handmade gifts for one another, instead of buying them. It emphasizes on the expression of mutual love within the family while creating something beautiful.

I also love the illustrations by the talented artist.

Overall, a perfect book for siblings and families to enjoy while learning a thing or two about a different culture. A great concept book for the classroom too!

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A fantastic book with a story showcasing siblings, South Asian culture and maths! It is unusual but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly liked the illustrations with their vivid colors to draw the eye.
A perfect addition to a child's bookshelf.

Bracelets for Bina's Brothers by Rajani LaRocca was a fantastic book! LaRocca provided a great read about family, creativity, math, diversity, and the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan. The book was bright and beautifully illustrated. #StorytellingMath #NetGalley

Beautiful story of Bins and how she and her brothers celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Gorgeous illustrations that add to the story! Perfect for the classrooms that work on finding, making patterns and extending patterns! #storytellingmath #NetGalley

Wow! I love this book.

Coming from a south asian heritage I am trying to find books that will showcase our culture to my kid.

This book exactly does that.

IT captures the essence of Rakshabandhan so beautifully. Handmade rakhis are a treat and the story beautifully conveys the loving bond between brothers and a sister.
The sister protagonist of the story tries to consider the likes and dislikes or her brothers while creating the wonderful bracelets for them.
The brothers also have thoughtfully created a return gift for their sister.
The story telling is amazing and so are the illustrations.
I wish I had this book in an actual copy so that I could review it on my Instagram channel and make my south asian audience aware of this wonderful book!
(It has a math aspect as well with is an extra bonus!)

This book is just what my library at school needs, more diversity in our selection of books. I have never before heard of this holiday and I am kind of jealous to tell you the true. This fictional picture book which also has some math for the younger grades as well is one I am adding to my list of picture books!

This is a story of Bina and her brothers the days before and during Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is special holiday for siblings to show they care and love one another. This year Bina makes her own bracelets for her brothers. How will she do on her own and will her brothers love them?