For eight days and eight nights Special candles we will light. Harriet Ziefert's simple, lively text and Melinda Levine's bright cut-paper collages bring the holiday of Hanukkah to life in a way that's just right for little ones. With every page a candle is added to the menorah, and one holiday ritual is introduced from lighting candles to storytelling to dreidels and latkes. This unique step book printed on sturdy cardstock features progressively wider pages that make it easy for small hands to turn to the page of their choice.
PreSchool-Grade 2. Stiff, gradated pages, each edged with a different color and showing an increasing number of candles from one to eight open to reveal a verse that describes a holiday activity. For example, on the fourth night, the text reads, "Grandma makes the latkes fry./She browns them till they're right." A full-page illustration of grandma wielding her spatula appears opposite a menorah showing the corresponding number of candles, along with the refrain, "Do you know the reason why?/It's Hanukkah tonight." While the rhyming scheme is not always consistent, the concepts are within the grasp of young children and the refrain invites participation. The artwork has the look of cut-paper collage, with a variety of colors and patterns used as accents (gift wrap, shirts, skirts, etc). A simple, serviceable introduction to the holiday. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Harriet Ziefert was born in New Jersey. She grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University. "About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year. Ziefert's picture book A New Coat for Anna is about a girl in a bombed-out European city during the months just after World War II. Anna has outgrown her old coat, and her mother trades her few surviving treasures--a watch, a lamp, a necklace, and a porcelain teapot--in order to obtain wool and have it spun, woven, and finally sewn into a fine red coat for Anna. A Horn Book Magazine reviewer stated, "the simple text, based on a true story, carries the narrative along effectively." The book, which was illustrated by Anita Lobel, was chosen as one of ten books to be read aloud by former First Lady Barbara Bush as part of a program promoting reading. Ziefert was invited to the White House for the occasion. The reason Ziefert began writing easy-to-read books was that she felt "they were getting too hard for kids to read in the first grade." She says that she wrote easy-to-read books with seventy-five or fewer words, even ones with fifty or fewer words, "to see how much of a story" she could produce with that limit. She enjoyed the challenge, and cites her book Sleepy Dog as an example. "Sleepy Dog is the most successful book I've ever done, in terms of number of books sold." She's also been working on a developmental program with publisher Dorling Kindersley, made up of books for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Her book Pete's Chicken, which was illustrated by Laura Rader, was reviewed in the New York Times Book Review as "a simple, sweet 'Song of Myself' for children . . . [which] applauds the specialness of every child as it reminds parents of the healing power of just being there for children." Among her other books is a series of easy-to-read books, such as Trip Day and Worm Day, about an inventive science teacher and his rambunctious class of students. Ziefert's book Let's Get a Pet was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children by a joint committee of the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council. . Ms. Ziefert lives in Maplewood, New Jersey and Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has two adult sons.
