It is almost time for CROCUS!

October means only one thing to us here at Saffron Tree. Birthday!!!!

Saffron Tree was born on October 23, 2006, when our resident author, Praba Ram sowed a tiny seed on blogger with the intent of highlighting books with a multicultural perspective.

Nearly four years later, ST has grown to 15 reviewers who have contributed over 400 reviews! We invite you to join ST's joyous birthday celebrations which we call CROCUS when we Celebrate Reading Of Culturally Unique Stories. Because birthdays are so much fun, we will celebrate for a whole week, from October 23 to October 30!

The team here at ST with the help of blogger Lavanya Karthik has created a colorful 'birthday banner' that we are all so very proud of. It represents all that ST hopes to project during CROCUS 2010 - an umbrella of culturally diverse books, relished by children from culturally diverse backgrounds. Lavanya has translated the concept into a visual masterpiece of a flier and we would like to extend a special thanks to her for bringing her artistry to our aid.

During CROCUS 2009, we hopped across the globe picking up tales representing different continents. For CROCUS 2010, we will pick up children's literature evident of culture. Culture is a complex conglomeration of human elements that fuse to form the signature of a certain community. We will pick it apart by sampling arts & crafts, food, traditions, lifestyle, mythology, folktales from the Americas to Asia, from Europe to Africa. We will be talking to authors, an editor, a storyteller and an illustrator, all of whom form the bridges between cultural units and us readers.

That's not all! There's also CROCUSWORD! Puzzled? More clues will follow!

As for you, dear ST reader, your support has meant the world to us. You have provided the sunshine to help us grow and extend our branches. We invite you to join the festivities. Visit us often this month, check out the wonderful books that we will be reviewing here, contribute your thoughts, be sure to catch CROCUSWORD, and most of all, spread word of CROCUS among family, friends and your community.

Now, would you sit back and count down with us? T minus 13 to CROCUS 2010!