Customer Reviews

Chanukah Lights Everywhere

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thank goodness, this book is NOT another retelling of the Chanukah story. Instead, the author uses the menorah's lights as a metaphor. The young speaker finds lights in his own world--lamp lights, car lights, star lights--to match the number of candles in the menorah. And the illustrator has painted just the same number of cats, too, so that the pages are utterly engaging. The PW reviewer clearly doesn't realize that preschool- and young readers want something more than a factual narrative. This beautiful book underscores community and family with its rich paintings and words that stretch a young imagination. The candle lights in this story radiate far beyond the page.

I chose this book for my classroom rather than other Chanukah books because it covers all nine days in a nice clear way. It is a gentle nice story that many children will enjoy and many kids will better understand how Chanukah is celebrated by Jewish people in the United States.

Ok. But if you are looking for an overview of Chanukah to share with your kids, this is not it.

We own just about every Chanukah book there is, and this is one of my favorites. The illustrations are warm and lovely, the text is neither juvenile (please no more rhyming books!) nor dull (retelling of the Maccabee story, anyone?), and the concept - connecting the "festival of lights" to all the many lights that brighten the holiday season (cars' headlights, houselights, Christmas lights) - is clever, meaningful and inclusive. A winner.

I gave this as a gift so I really can't review it. I think it was a good book for the 7 year old I gave it to.