This is a must for elementary and middle school libraries whether there are Jewish children at the schools or not. The book talks about howHanukkah is celebrated in Jewish communities around the world, from New York,Israel, Istanbul, etc.
Sydney, Australia has a big Hanukkah celebration in the park which has become a city-wide event. They also talk about how Jews have been discriminated against in some of the cities. There are many interesting facts in the potpourri section, e.g., how Hanukkah was celebrated at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany in 1943. The Jews created a makeshift menorah out of a raw potato. They carved dreidels out of their wooden shoes for the dozen children in the camp.
Each chapter uses about a page and a half to tell how Hanukkah is celebrated from the perspective of the children in a Jewish family in each country. These sections would be nice to read aloud to a group.There are eight cities/countries explored; a family could read one per day.
Each section gives a sidebar telling the history of the Jews in that region and includes a recipe for a popular Hanukkah dish they make.
48 pages 978-0822587620 Ages 8-11
Keywords: Hanukkah, Jewish holidays, religion, Judaism, customs and traditions, multicultural, diverse books, diversity, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old
Recommended by; Jan Davies, School Librarian (Retired), Virginia USA
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