A warm and tender tale of a loving Jewish family celebrating an ancient tradition.
A heavy snowstorm affects a family’s Hanukkah celebrations.
This new version of a tale originally published in 1989 with illustrations by Robin Spowart sees the Menashe family planning to celebrate Hanukkah with the traditional candles, games, and, most especially, delicious feasts of latkes and applesauce. But the snow is falling relentlessly, there are no apples in the house, and the potatoes are covered under the heavy snow. Still, Papa, Mama, Rebecca, and Ezra find joy in lighting the candles, one more each night, playing the dreidel game, and eating their quickly dwindling chicken soup. Two visitors, a small kitten and a skinny dog, provide a surprising and very satisfying conclusion, reflected in the wonderfully appropriate new names they are given. The narrative feels like a folktale, with simple, descriptive language that highlights ever hopeful Papa’s charming phrases as he encourages a cheerful outlook. Easler’s large-scale, digitally rendered graphite and gouache illustrations complement the text and add lovely touches of humor. The family members are expressive, depicted with tan skin and dark brown hair. Although the tale is set “long ago in a village far away,” there is a definite modernity to the family’s clothes and furnishings. The author addresses young readers at the end, asking if the story is a miracle (“Who can say? It happened, and maybe that is miracle enough for anyone!”). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm and tender tale of a loving Jewish family celebrating an ancient tradition. (information on Hanukkah, latkes and applesauce, and the dreidel) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-62354-156-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
