Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! [Hardcover]

Esme Raji Codell (Author), LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Old Scroogemacher was as sour as a pickle and had a tongue like horseradish. He was a tyrant to the poor workers in his waistcoat factory, and even on the last night of Hanukkah, he had the nerve to set the clocks back. What a shtunk. When his nephew Moshe protests, Scroogemacher laughs. "Hanukkah, shmanukah," he says. "It's just another night to me."Oy vey iz mir, was he wrong! Who would have thought that not one, not two, but THREE ghostly rabbis would visit him that night? As Scroogemacher travels back and forth with his wise spirits from the time of the Maccabees, to the present-day tenements and then on to the wonders and horrors of the future, he begins to understand that some good can happen from a little remembering. Especially on Hanukkah, Shmanukkah.But do the rabbis manage to turn Scroogemacher into a mensch? Can a leopard change his spots? So you'll read the book, you want that I tell you everything right here?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. In this picture book for older children, Codell retells Dickens' A Christmas Carol, replacing Yule customs with those of the Festival of Lights. Old Scroogemacher, the owner of an early-twentieth-century New York City garment shop, mistreats his immigrant workers and reduces their wages at the slightest offence. The Rabbi of Hanukkah Past helps Scroogemacher to recall the origins of the holiday, the Rabbi of Hanukkah Present takes him on a tour of the crowded tenements where his employees live, and the Rabbi of Hanukkah Future informs her charge about current labor practices, offering Scroogemacher two possible scenarios for his nephew Moshe's future. Codell sprinkles her telling with a generous helping of Yiddish phrases, clarified in a glossary, and humorous asides designed for modern audiences: when Scroogemacher comments about the ubiquitousness of Christmas, the rabbi replies, "What can I say? They have good decorations." Pham's luminous artwork exhibits an Old World style suitable to the setting. Appended with source notes from the author and illustrator, this will find a niche as a family read-aloud. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 58 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786851791
• ISBN-13: 978-0786851799
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,474,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Esmé Raji Codell is the author of the acclaimed novel Sahara Special, winner of the IRA Children's Book Award, a Kirkus Editors' Choice for 2003, and a BookSense 76 #1 title; as well as a memoir for young readers, Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: Hard-to-Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade. A former teacher, bookseller, and children's librarian, she lives with her husband and son in Chicago. Sahara Special and Sing a Song of Tuna Fish Hard-to-Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade are also available on audio from Listening Library.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fairly well-balanced Jewish take on Dickens' holiday classic, December 17, 2005

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! (Hardcover)

I admit it: this review is in response to the reviewer who called "Hanukkah, Shmanukkah" "offensive and weird." Having grown up on "A Christmas Carol," I was curious to see how Jewish tradition would be worked into the story, and why the first reviewer found it so offensive.

Scroogemacher is the miserly owner of a garment sweatshop in turn-of-the-century New York City. He forces his immigrant workers to work overtime on the last night of Hanukkah, and is visited by the Rabbis of Hanukkah Past, Present, and Future. Scroogemacher is transported to the time of Judah Maccabee, in the middle of the battle to reclaim the Temple, to the crowded tenements where his workers live, and finally, to see his nephew's possible futures based on his choices.

So how did Jewish tradition hold up? The Rabbi of Hanukkah present is a female rabbi, and the text addresses Reform Judaism implicitly. Scroogemacher is outraged when, in the future, he is surrounded by Christmas decorations and music instead of his more familiar Jewish world, to which the rabbi replies, "What can I say? They have good decorations." Liberal sprinklings of Yiddish (a glossary is included) and humorous writing make this an original take on Dickens' work rather than a poor imitation. The artwork evokes a sort of Old World style that works well with the text.

So, to the reviewer who thought that "Hanukkah, Shmanukkah" was offensive and weird, how many other Jewish children's books make an attempt to address the inescapability of Christmas and Christianity in American society while intelligently discussing the immigrant experience (the poignant tale of Scroogemacher's wife being sent back to the Old Country because of trachoma), Reform Judaism, the widening gap between Jewish as secular cultural identity and Judaism as religion, and workers' rights?

How is (Jewish) Scroogemacher a worse influence than the greedy, stingy Christian personified by Scrooge? The important thing is that both find redemption and closer ties to their respective family and cultures. Dickens' Christmas Carol values seem based on tikkun olam, the Jewish commitment to healing the world. "Hanukkah, Shmanukkah" at least attempts to bridge the gap between the multitude of bright, colorful Christmas books for children and the lack of appropriate Jewish-themed books for older children ("Hanukkah, Shmannukah" is suggested for readers ages 9-12). Starting with a universal holiday tale of redemption, it enfolds the warmth and light of Hanukkah, the power of love to transform, and the strength of Jewish tradition. A beautiful, thought-provoking read that brightened my Hanukkah.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT offensive and weird! A good tale!, May 31, 2006

By 

K. Ericson "ericsonk" (Fort Wayne, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! (Hardcover)

This re-telling of Dickens's Christmas Carol is charming, warm and friendly. It presented a story I knew in a new perspective, and I learned things about Jewish culture that I didn't know before. The illustrations are wonderful.

Jewish friends to whom I showed this book are planning to read this story to their children at Hanukkah.

A previous review stated that Dickens' Christmas Carol wasn't ethnic. Yes it was -- it was incredibly WASP ethnic. This re-telling doesn't reinforce stereotypes, but shows how much we all have in common.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful storytelling, January 1, 2006

By 

Daniel Halevi Bloom ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! (Hardcover)

The author has done her homework and come up with a winner, would even make a nice TV holiday special with an ecumenical plot, if done right. This book is necessary!