As each of Hanukkah's first seven nights brings an unusual new present to a little girl, the mystery deepens. While the gifts grandma receives add up to a delicious Hanukkah treat, her granddaughter's gifts don't seem to make much sense. Until the eighth night they finally do!---from the publisher
32 pages 978-1541534711 Ages 4-9
Keywords: Hanukkah, grandmother, customs and traditions, Jewish story, religion, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old
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Kugel for Hanukkah Gretchen M. Everin
Illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown
ISBN-10 : 1541534719
Kugel for Hanukkah? Why not? It’s notspecifically a Hanukkah dish but used for Jewish holidays.
The story is told over the eight days. Thelittle girl desperately wants a pet, so the presents she gets -- a metal lamp, , aspray bottle, and a ceramic bowl -- are hints of what kind of pet she will eventually get.
At the same time, grandma is getting presentsthat seem to lead to something she might cook (an apron,a cookbook, and oven mitts).
The family has a different kind of latke eachnight. Latkes are the traditional meal for Hanukkkah, usually a potato pancakefriend in oil, but this family was having carrot latkes, parsnip latkes, beetlatkes, turnip latkes, etc., culminating in the eighth night when they got toeat all kinds of latkes. The little girl got her pet and Grandma made a kugelfor the family. At the end of the book, the reader gets arecipe for the chocolate cranberry kugel that grandma baked.
Recommended by: Janice Davies, School Librarian (retired), Virginia USA
Read alike: ZigaZak! A MagicalHanukkah Night by Eric A. Kimmel In the town of Brisk, the people werecelebrating Hanukkah. Two devils flying above the town saw the menorahs in thewindows and decided they were going to play some pranks on the townspeople.
They saw children playing with their dreidels.The devils exclaimed ZigAZak! and made the dreidels come to life witharms and legs, frightening the children. The devils saw a woman cooking latkes and madethe latkes fly around the room. They saw a man light the Hanukkah candles andmade the candles explode like fireworks.
The people went to ask the Rabbi what theycould do. Rather than being disturbed he was delighted with the magic that wasaffecting the Hanukkah implements, explaining, “Nothing is completely wicked…Sparks of holiness exist in all things. Even in devils and their mischief.”
He offers to free the devils from the forcesof darkness and to bring them into the light, but they refuse.
He tricks them into turning themselves intocockroaches and then stomps on them. But he explains to the people that it wasonly their forms he had destroyed. The monsters are more naughty than evil, soit’s a relief they’re not really destroyed (or so the rabbi said) but justdriven away.
The illustrations are realistic and even thedevils are depicted as the kind of monsters you might find in a Renaissancepainting. This realism gives the book a magical quality. This is a fun read for grades 2-4.
Recommended by: Janice Davies, School Librarian, Virginia USA
Hanukkah Haiku by Harriet Ziefert
Ziefert cleverly tells of the eight nights of Hanukkah using haikus. This is a good read aloud because of the poetic haikus, but children will want to spend sometime studying these pictures in their own time. The illustrations are colorful paintings, interesting enough that readers will study each one. The pictures are full of patterns and movement. Each page has a wide margin with a colorful pattern. Stepped pages add one candle to the menorah every time the page is turned.
Recommended by: Janice Davies, School Librarian (Retired), Virginia USA
Hanukkah Mice
For preschoolers throughgrade 2
The Hanukkah Mice tells the story of howRachael received a beautiful dollhouse on the first night of Hanukkah. A family of mice sees it and decides it would be perfect for their family so they move in.
Each night Rachael receives a new present which is a piece of furniture for the dollhouse. The mice are overjoyed to have the furnishings for their new home.
After a while, the reader realizes thatRachael is aware of the mice family inhabiting her dollhouse and the illustrations show her delighted smile as she watches the mice family through the dollhouse window.
The pictures show the mouse antics – e.g.,Mindy the Mouse doing a somersault with joy, Papa Mouse relaxing in a tiny wing-backed chair. The story is sure to make the reader smile and maybe laugh.
Recommended by: Janice Davies, School Librarian (Retired), Virginia USA