GOLEM, GOLEM, GOLEM

Chanukah chaos ensues when a child bored with playing dreidel does something different this year.

Instead of shaping the clay into a dreidel, the brown-skinned young protagonist decides to create a palm-sized golem, a guardian from Jewish folklore. The creature awakens wanting nothing more than to help celebrate the holiday. “Built to obey but a dreidel at heart,” it expresses its enthusiasm by spinning. Its zany zigzagging accidentally scatters the gelt, spills the platters of festive food, and even breaks the menorah. The family’s shouts of dismay reflect the letters on the dreidel (for instance, “hay” becomes “Hey!”). Staring at the mess, the boy is regretful. He realizes he can’t undo what’s been done, but there is a way forward: The golem transforms into a new base for the menorah, where it can proudly fulfill its celebratory purpose. Ben Ami’s cheerful, delicately scribbly art features a diverse community of Jewish families with varying skin tones and hair colors and textures; the illustrator beautifully balances a sense of mischief with holiday warmth. Ho’s writing is masterful; his seemingly simple text weaves in layers of humor and heart through sensory language, parallel structure, delicious wordplay, and inspired golem-themed song refrains.

A touching Chanukah must-read that offers a truly original spin on the festivities.