A WILD, WILD HANUKKAH

Wild beasts arrive to observe the Festival of Lights.

After an opening illustration that suggests that the narrative might be a dream from a slumbering child, a cumulative string of wild animals appears on each night of Hanukkah, starting with a single polar bear and culminating with eight penguins. Rhyming text with largely successful scansion introduces each new species, each of which also brings the necessary components for a Hanukkah party, from latkes to potatoes to flour to dreidels. The rhymes combine with alliteration and onomatopoeia, making for a surreal, aurally lavish read-aloud. Some of the lines may require a practice round, though, with phrases such as “eight pompous, punk-rock penguins / spin dreidels on the floor” feeling a bit like tongue-twisters. Gershman’s painterly illustrations employ multiple angles and floating figures in dynamic poses, heightening the zaniness of the tale. Readers will linger over the wordless spreads that depict tigers, armadillos, and more in a frantic swirl before the animals settle in to hear the child read a story about Hanukkah. Then they depart, leaving the light-skinned family alone as the holiday ends. A note in the backmatter offers a brief explanation of Hanukkah’s Maccabean origins. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A madcap Hanukkah celebration for a skillful reader.