The Gift (Aladdin Picture Books) [Paperback]

Aliana Brodmann (Author), Anthony Carnabuci (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998 | Series: Aladdin Picture Books

With her Hanukkah money in her pocket, a little girl eagerly sets out to find the perfect way to spend her treasure. Will she choose a fancy hat? A new doll? A soft, gray kitten? Nothing seems just right until she hears a lovely melody from a street musician's accordion. Suddenly she knows what to do with her gift -- and in giving from her heart she receives the best gift of all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689822405
• ISBN-13: 978-0689822407
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect book on giving for Chanukah or Xmas, April 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gift (Hardcover)

This is sweet and very dear story taken from the author's childhood in Germany. The dilemma of what to do with her Chanukah gelt takes this young girl from enticing store to store, each of which she has visited before, but now has the means for a MAJOR purchase. The final choice is a suprise and a treat for the reader as well as a triumph for the girl. Carnabuci's illustrations grow on you, and he has some beautiful scenes, like the cover picture. This pair, author and illustrator, made a great book together. I hope they can collaborate on more books in the future

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The gift of giving, March 10, 2002

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Gift (Hardcover)

This 28-page picture book is based on the author's post-World War II memories, as the child of Holocaust survivors, of the Hanukkah season in Germany.

The book does not cover the War period at all. This fictional tale, rather, recasts the author's post-war meeting with a German veteran of the Battle of Stalingrad who played an accordion and earned his living as a street musician. As the Horn Book quotation on this page notes, the girl goes shopping for Hanukkah with a five-mark coin in her pocket, "but, instead, gives the money to a street musician, who teaches her to play the accordion."

I can't give away the ending, but it teaches an important lesson: Those who give are often repaid many fold.

--- Alyssa A. Lappen