The Ugly Menorah (Paperback)

by Marissa Moss (Author, Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This wan effort uses the holiday setting to drive home familiar lessons from the beauty-is-in-the-eyes-of-the-beholder school. Spending Hanukkah with her recently widowed grandmother, Rachel thinks her grandmother's menorah is ugly, even after she is told how her grandfather lovingly fashioned it from scraps years ago when he could not afford to buy a fancy one. But after it's lit, Rachel has an (unconvincing) epiphany: "For the first time since Grandpa died, she felt he was with her again." As if to underscore the point about appearances, Moss's illustrations are almost aggressively plain, with stiff, almost gauche figures peopling ill-lit settings. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"...In a story-within-a-story format...readers hear Rachel's grandmother's story..." -- School Library Journal

"Moss stays true to the perspective of the young Rachel with...an unerring eye..." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374480478
• ISBN-13: 978-0374480479
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.6 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,362,746 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS WILL LIGHT UP YOUR HOLIDAY, December 13, 2000

By	BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Ugly Menorah (Hardcover)

This gently written Hannukah story is a lesson in what is really beautiful. Rachel visits her grandmother and comments on an old, obviously hand made menorah made of odds and ends. She thinks it is ugly and tells her grandmother that.

Rachel's grandmother, a wise and articulate woman tells Rachel that she just needs to understand the story behind that menorah. She described her life as a young wife during the Depression Years when money was hard to come by. She saw a beautiful, very ornate menorah in a shop window and wanted it. Unable to afford it, her husband went into his shop, and, using assorted scraps around the place built a makeshift menorah. That way, they could celebrate the ancient, wonderful traditions together with something he had made.

Rachel is understandably moved by the menorah's history. She decides it is beautiful because it was made by love. When her mother comes to pick her up and comments on how ugly she thinks the menorah is, Rachel tells her it is NOT ugly, it is beautiful!

Rachel was right. It really was beautiful, just like this story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my favorite hanukkah tale, September 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ugly Menorah (Hardcover)

Over the eight days of Hanukkah, there's ample time to sneak this book into your child's bedtime readings. It is lovely tale that teaches that beauty can be found in the most simple things. Reinforcing the idea of Hanukkah, that spiritual items, though they may look mundane, have greater power and beauty than a more Hellenistic idea of artistic beauty.