Children's Books discussion

Here's the place to post recommendations for Hanukkah
-themed children's books...

I haven't read too many Hanukkah books; our libraries don't have many and during Hanukkah time I tend to try and leave them for those families who celebrate the holiday and then I forget to look them up other times of the year.

Here are the few I have reviews for:

The Hanukkah Mice by Randall
Loved this! It's told simply but with great heart and really captures the spirit of thanksgiving in terms of opening your heart to others and embracing gratitude and joy (even in unexpected places). It's also an immigrant story and I think that's wonderful in conjunction with Thanksgiving (after all, the colonists at the first thanksgiving were immigrants, too, in a way!) showing how the old world customs combine lovingly with the new country they have come to embrace. Love that it shows the unexpected benefits that come from facing "mistakes" with grace and humor. The illustrations are colorful and really add to the flavor of the tale, and it's great that the cover art is really the first glimpse into the action of the story. Highly recommended!

Hanukkah Moon
Deborah da Costa explains in her author's note, "This story reflects the celebration of the new moon that occurs during Hanukkah. This custom is popular among Sephardic Jews (those whose ancestors came from Spain), who settled in Latin America." da Costa's story tells of young Isobel who is invited to her Aunt Luisa's house for Hanukkah. Aunt Luisa recently moved to the US from Mexico and Isobel isn't sure whether Aunt Luisa will celebrate Hanukkah like Isobel's family always has. But, her father assures her that they will still celebrate Hanukkah with the menorah/hanukkiah and other traditions, and are also in for the treat of the celebration of the Hanukkah moon.

I really enjoyed this story. I had never heard of the moon celebration, or Rosh Hodesh, which is a special celebration once a month honoring the women who did not contribute their gold to help build the idol of the golden calf at Mt. Sinai. In this book, the luna nuevo (new moon) is welcomed during an especially festive time of Hanukkah making it even more special. While the storytelling and illustrations here were nothing really "wow" for me, I did appreciate the overall result and think it conveys beautifully a young girl's delight not only in a very special holiday tradition but in spending time with her aunt and learning new ones, as well. I also really appreciated the emphasis on animals and being kind to all living creatures.

When Mindy Saved Hanukkah The illustrations are absolutely delightful, combining my appreciation for McClintock's work with my love of "teeny tiny" houses/people and how all the everyday objects we use like matchboxes and thimbles are given new life as part of the wee folks furnishings. Such a delight! I also appreciate that Mindy is a courageous heroine. This is a treat that I think transcends its holiday genre to be appealing at any time of the year and to those of any faith.

The Trees of the Dancing Goats

is lovely, although it is not just a Hanukkah story, but how a Jewish family makes a happy Holiday for their ill neighbours

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

A bit scary, but pretty fun, with a great author's note on Hanukkah

These two Hanukkah books I have not read, but they look promising, with the Sharon Jennings book description feeling a bit like The Trees of the Dancing Goats

A Chanukah Noel

Yesterday's Santa and the Chanukah Miracle

I am a huge fan of the Biscuit books by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. I just ordered Biscuit's Hanukkah
I also ordered the ones below

Elmo's Little Dreidel Grover's Eight Nights of LightMy First Chanukah

All of these were just ordered for my new born son. Yes he is three weeks old and I already started reading to him. I have read the first two books I listed. I am waiting for the others to come in.

Stephanie wrote: "I am a huge fan of the Biscuit books by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. I just ordered Biscuit's Hanukkah
I also ordered the ones below ."

That's wonderful, Stephanie! It's never too early to start reading to your little one :-) He is so lucky you're reading to him when he's a newborn. Thanks for sharing the titles he's enjoying.

You can't start reading to a child too early! My niece was 2 weeks old her first Christmas and I bought her a book. She already had a couple books from other people already.

I'll pay more attention to the books in the Little Free Library next time. I always see a lot of Jewish holiday books there.