Hanukkah Delight!

by Leslea Newman, Amy Husband (Illustrator)

Overview

Whimsical bunnies celebrate Hanukkah in this charming rhyming board book describing all the Hanukkah rituals beloved by Jewish kids.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467793537
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/01/2016
Series:	Kar-Ben Hanukkah Series
Pages:	12
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD370L (what's this?)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than sixty books for readers of all ages. Her awards include an American Library Association Honor and a Sydney Taylor Honor. She lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Amy Husband graduated from Liverpool School of Art with a B.A. in Graphic Art. Based in York, England, she loves illustrating children's books as well as drinking tea and eating biscuits.

Editorial Reviews

"Newman (Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed) and Husband (The Noisy Foxes) team up for a blithe rhyming account of a festive Hanukkah celebration: 'Friends and neighbors to invite./Ancient blessings we recite./ Gleaming candles burning bright./ Crispy latkes taste just right.' The celebrants include a family of rabbits, a mouse and her daughter, a tall alligator, and an owl who walks with a cane, creating a sense of warm inclusivity throughout. Newman hits all the key Hanukkah moments ('Dreidels spinning through the night./Chocolate gelt—come take a bite'), and Husband’s collages brim with joyful energy."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2016-10-12
In brief board-book form Newman revisits the familiar Hanukkah traditions she successfully introduced in Eight Nights of Chanukah, illustrated by Elivia Savadier (2005), and Here Is the World, illustrated by Susan Gal (2014). Here the holiday stands on its own without parodying a Christmas tune or being lost in a compendium of the Jewish year. Of course, a board book has space for much less information. The essential ingredients of the celebration—candles, blessings, latkes, dreidels, and gelt—are mentioned in nine lines of text that all rhyme with "delight." The finer points of theology, including the miracle Hanukkah commemorates, are left for older children to learn from experience, their own reading, or stories told round the holiday table. The fun is in the detailed pictures. Husband uses cheerful, well-dressed bunnies to depict a family as they celebrate the Jewish holiday American gentiles know best. Some subtle stereotypes still creep in. The family consists of papa, mama, big sister, and baby. A crocodile in a tie and a portly and bespectacled owl are among the friends. The males all wear yarmulkes, and the females all wear dresses. Otherwise they are just like anyone else who can be depicted as talking animals. Useful for both Jewish families and others seeking to give children a head start on religious pluralism. (Board book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews