My Lucky Dreidel: Hanukkah Stories, Songs, Poems, Crafts, Recipes, and Fun for Kids [Hardcover]

Cherie Karo Schwartz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Smithmark Pub (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0831762853
• ISBN-13: 978-0831762858
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,722,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book --- if you find a copy, grab it!, October 12, 2000

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: My Lucky Dreidel: Hanukkah Stories, Songs, Poems, Crafts, Recipes, and Fun for Kids (Hardcover)

It's too bad this book went out of print, because it's a delightful collection of Hanukkah stories, crafts, recipes, and folklore from around the world. If you come across a copy somewhere, by all means, do grab it!

The book is divided into eight sections, one for each of the 8 days of Hanukkah. Each section has a Hanukkah story told by Cherie Schwartz, plus a recipe, craft project, poems, folklore, and customs from around the world. Not just limited to European Jews, either. You and your children can learn about how Hanukkah is celebrated in Israel, Syria, Spain, North Africa, India, the Sephardic communities, etc. (Did you know, for example, that Jews in Venice, Italy, used to go house to house singing Hanukkah songs from their gondolas? They recognized the Jewish homes from the menorahs burning in the windows.)

Along with the usual potato latkes, the recipes include a cake and a fruit salad shaped like a menorah, a tiropia cheese pie from Greece, Hanukkah cookies, and Sweet Israel Chicken. For crafts, you can make a family scrapbook, Hanukkah mobile, suncatcher, mezuzzah cover, Hamsa (lucky hand) candle, and more. The book itself is in oversized format, with beautiful illustrations by Wendy Edelson and color photos by Jonathan Gross. These are fun family projects that will keep your kids interested for the whole week of Hanukkah. Like I said, it's a good find -- hopefully it will someday come back into print.