Hanukkah happiness for the very young.
A rabbi and her family enjoy a food- and fun-filled holiday.
“There was a young rabbi / who read from the Torah. / She read from the Torah / and lit the menorah. / She lit the menorah, / as we all know, / to remember a miracle / from a long time ago.” To the rhythm of the familiar cumulative rhyme “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly,” the rabbi then makes herself busy in the kitchen frying latkes. These are “latkes so yummy” that “filled up her tummy.” She also makes applesauce for the latkes and a “nice brisket” that is “kosher, of course.” Dessert comes in the shape of chocolate gelt that is “so sweet and so tasty, / in her mouth it did melt.” Along with eating all the requisite food (Ashkenazic style), the family lights the candles on the menorah, spins the dreidel, and exchanges gifts. The long, repetitive text invites participation. The family presents as White, and colorful illustrations convey a busy home and cheerful folk. With the exception of one scene of the miracle in the Temple and a set of elderly visitors, human characters, both male- and female-presenting, all seem to wear kippot. However, aside from this and the rabbi’s feminine pronouns, the book does not meaningfully question gender norms: The rabbi’s male-presenting partner helps with none of the cooking. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.875-by-21.25-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Hanukkah happiness for the very young. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-7607-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like marshmallow on top of caramel.
Little Bear loves everything about Christmas, but there’s one thing he loves even more.
The Bear household is busily getting ready for Christmas. Mommy Bear wraps and bakes; Daddy Bear brings home a humongous tree; Little Bear exults in it all. With each new Christmas tradition that’s introduced, from opening Christmas cards to receiving carolers, Little Bear sings a song that celebrates it. “I love ornaments, and garland, and lights on a string, / candy canes, stockings—and all of the things / that make Christmas perfect—oh, yes, I do! / But the thing that I love more than Christmas is—” But before Little Bear can complete his rhyme, each time he is interrupted by a new element of Christmas to celebrate. Since that terminal rhyme is always set up with one that ends with an “oo” sound, readers will not be surprised in the least when Mommy and Daddy interrupt him one last time with an emphatic “YOU!” It’s all so uber-idealized readers may find themselves gagging on the syrup—it even seems to get at Hattie: Daddy Bear’s smug “What an exceedingly talented family we are” has a whiff of irony to it. Warnes’ cartoon bears inhabit a cozy, middle-class home; while the carolers are clothed, the Bear family is not, but readers may notice a white marking on Mommy Bear’s chest where a string of pearls might rest.
Like marshmallow on top of caramel. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-208-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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