Customer Reviews

When Mindy Saved Hanukkah

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We have about 10 Channukah books at our house, but none come close to capturing the spirit of this holiday evident in "When Mindy Saved Hanukkah." The story presumes a knowledge of the reason for Channukah-so you still need at least one other good book about the story of Channukah. But this book can stand on its own as an example of heroics, a model of family, and a spirit of giving. My kids love this book and we read it all year long, but because of the well written prose and the wry way the story unfolds, I enjoy it every time, as much as they do. Even more importantly, my kids sort of believe this story and my 3 year old son insists we look for the cat in the sanctuary at our synangogue, since he reasons one must exist in every temple.

Here's another charming Hanukkah story by Eric Kimmel. His tales are a nice departure from the run-of-the-mill "story of Hanukkah" or "how to celebrate Hanukkah" books that fill the shelves this time of year. My 5 year old (who liked the Borrowers) enjoyed this tale of a miniature family, and even if he didn't immediately pick up on the parallel between this story and that of the Maccabees (which I thought clever), he liked seeing household items and synagogue artifacts from the perspective of a mouse-sized person, and enjoyed the spirit and joy of the story.

If your children enjoy the Littles or the Borrowers, they'll love the Kleins. They are a tiny family living a big family's home and need to gather supplies for the holiday. There's just one problem...the big family owns a cat!