From award winning picture books to read before bedtime to the latest,  hottest YA novel to a non-fiction title about a subject one of them had suddenly developed a passion for, books were the icing on the cake of our gift giving. The interesting thing about those books…while there was a bit of complaining, I have noticed that many of them are still sitting on their bookshelves even as they head off to college.

So whether you want to make one of the eight Hanukkah nights a book night or spread them over all eight nights of the holiday, I encourage you to build your childrens’ libraries with excellent literature. They will thank you for it…someday.

Let me recommend two titles that will last throughout the year,  are great for family reading time  and make wonderful family gifts.

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JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible

Retold by Ellen Frankel. Illustrated by Avi Katz.  © 2009 Jewish Publication Society

Ellen Frankel and JPS have decided to put their efforts to the task of providing the younger members of the Jewish community with a Children’s Bible they can truly call their own. The stories are well told and very true to the original texts. The selection of stories is excellent and hits all major Biblical highlights.  Avi Katz’s illustrations are breathtaking and bring each story to life with vibrant colors, vivid detailing and exceptional expression.With great thought, careful editing, deliberate selection, and fabulous artwork, The JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible will certainly become a classic.

A Year of Jewish Stories: 52 Tales for Young Children and Their Families

By Grace Maisel and Samantha Shubert. Illustrated by Tammy L. Keiser.      © 2004  URJ Press.

In this  collection of stories from all over the Jewish world and throughout Jewish history, the authors provide an excellent overview of the wit, wisdom and most of all values that have enabled the Jewish people to survive over these centuries. With enough stories to enjoy one for every Shabbat evening, this is sure to be an oft-requested volume on the family bookshelf.

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I hope you will enjoy both of these titles in your own homes and share them with  others during your holiday season. And while you are at it, why not donate a book to Toys for Tots, your local homeless shelter or a children’s hospital. I know it would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Kathy B.

Stories about families in eight different countries illustrate these diverse traditions. A map indicating the location of the country and city where the story takes place and a recipe for the delicious food described accompanies each story.  Colorful and charming illustrations complement the characters and their traditions and provide an idea of how the food looks.

Books like this provide wonderful ideas for classroom and home Hanukkah celebrations. I was intrigued by the connection drawn between Tisha B’Av and Hanukkah by the Jews of Italy and attracted to the idea of honoring only women heroes on the seventh night of Hanukkah as practiced in Tunisia. There are, of course, the usual kinds of information here – the Hanukkah story, the dreidel game, etc. The back of the book holds a “Hanukkah Potpourri” with ten extra Hanukkah customs and a Glossary containing meanings for any Hebrew or foreign words used.  NOTE: A geographical error. On the map for Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the country at the top of the page is identified as the “Soviet Union” which no longer exists.

Grade Range: 3rd – 5^th Grades

© 2007 Kar-Ben Publishing

What a delightful, beautiful, charming and multicultural Hanukkah story. Aunt Luisa is from Mexico and is celebrating Hanukkah and has invited her niece, Isobel, to celebrate with her at her home.  Apparently, in Mexico they celebrate the Hanukkah Moon, which is the Rosh Hodesh moon during Hanukkah. While Isobel is not so sure she is going to get the Hanukkah, she wants during her visit, in the end she gets a Hanukkah she never dreamed of.

This charming picture book is filled with magic – “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” in Spanish, a Hanukkah piñata, respect for animals, the story of Rosh Hodesh. Gorgeous, warm, earth-tone illustrations wrap you in the story. The text is engaging and enchanting while educating the reader to new customs.

Hanukkah Moon would make a wonderful classroom reading time event followed by learning about the Hanukkah customs of other countries (combine it with Hanukkah Around the World.) A Family Education day where students share the customs in their own families would be another idea this book could generate.

While I often feel the world could do with less Hanukkah titles, this is a unique and special addition to any Jewish bookshelf.

Grade Level: K-3

Jewish educators, teachers, librarians…this book proves that arts and crafts lessons are well worth your time and energy! Here is a wondrous book about a marine ecologist, doing research in Antarctica. Because it is summer time there, the sun never sets.  Nevertheless, it is the first night of Hanukkah, he is missing his family and wondering how they are celebrating the holiday. While diving in deep, dark and very cold (28-33 degree Fahrenheit) water, he suddenly has an idea. He will create a Menorah out of sea urchins and take a picture of it. It appears that having a Ph.D. in Biology elicits and enhances the creative juices of one’s Judaism.

Seriously, though, this is an exceptional and interesting story about taking your Judaism with you wherever you go – even to the literal ends of the earth. It is about letting nature inspire you with its lessons and looking to the lessons of the Jewish people for insight as well. The text is age appropriate and sensitive.  The photographs are fantastic and bring the Antarctic environment up close and personal. I especially like the picture of the divers sitting on the edge of the ice as the penguin walks by.  I felt completely frozen looking at the pictures of the divers underwater.

This is a fun, unique and interesting Hanukkah/Science book for every library.

Grade Range: K – 4^th Grades

©1985  Holiday House

If I was stuck on a desert island during Hanukkah and could only bring one children’s Hanukkah book with me, I would bring this book. Classic, timeless and always enjoyable, great for reading out loud or reading alone, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is hands down my favorite, number one Hanukkah book.

It is the story of Hershel of Ostropol, a famous character in Jewish folklore, who arrives at a poor village one cold evening. It happens to be the first night of Hanukkah and Hershel is hoping for hospitality, warmth and food. Instead, he finds fear, cold and hunger. The villagers inform Hershel that goblins have taken over and will not allow any celebrations, especially not Hanukkah celebrations. How Hershel proceeds to outwit the goblins and reclaim Hanukkah is the delightful and whimsical center of this story.

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is a Caldecott Honor book, so the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman are magnificently drawn. Eric Kimmel is one of the best storytellers in the children’s book world, so the story is eloquent. Yes, there are demons and goblins–even Hershel is scared witless. The kids will love it, and you will too. This is a wonderful book for family reading time, while the Hanukkah candles burn.

Grades K-3^rd

Note: Portions of this review appeared on JBooks.com in 2007.

© 2008 Blue Apple Books

This is a unique Hanukkah book for a number of reasons. First, for each night of Hanukkah there is a lovely Haiku which charmingly addresses – as only a Haiku can – a specific Hanukkah custom. You and your students, or family members, will enjoy counting the syllables and discovering if the author got the 5-7-5 rhythm correct in each poem.

Second, each page of the book is cut in such a way as to reveal the candles as they become lit on the menorah each night.   Last, but by no means least, with each turn of the page a new, exquisitely drawn piece of artwork reveals itself. Each illustration is brightly colored and richly detailed with an element of the Hanukkah tradition.

A beautiful addition to your Hanukkah library.

Grade Level: K-3