A group of six children introduces Hanukkah by each stating his or her favorite part or activity for the celebration. They progress to the detailed, intriguing facts and legends recounting the historical reason for the holiday’s recognition, the origins of the dreidel game, the varieties of materials used to make one and how the rules of play evolved over generations. Most interesting are two stories of women heroines, not readily known: Judith and a mother and daughter team both named Hannah, who were responsible in their own clever and respective ways for outsmarting the Syrian General Holophernes and encouraging the Maccabees to fight their first battle for religious freedom. In addition, a section on “Sevivon [“dreidel” in Hebrew] Science” is included, explaining the game’s odds within the laws of probability as well as Newton’s law of inertia that allows the spinning top to stay in motion. Filled with side snippets of related facts and explanations, this is one of the most complete and cleverly written books on the winter holiday. Black-and-white sketches of the children providing informative clues as well as drawings of historical scenes round out this well-designed and entertainingly interesting little book. Great for families to share and read aloud. (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-59643-059-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2005
A club-shaped pumpkin gets dissed by a customer, all the other pumpkins, even twisted apple trees, before the sight of a motley crop of hubbards, acorns and banana squash brings on a personal epiphany: “O my gosh / I’m a squash.” Endowed with a face and stick limbs, the gnarled narrator sits down at a Thanksgiving table with its new soulmates, then is last seen strolling down the lane hand in hand with a lumpy new friend. Written in doggerel—“A skeleton came for pumpkins / one bright and crispy day. / I asked if I could get a ride . . . / He laughed and said: No Way”—and illustrated in brightly colored paint-and-paper collage, this weak riff on the “Ugly Duckling” may not earn high marks for botanical accuracy (all pumpkins are squash), but it does feature plenty of visual flash. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-399-24267-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
A Christmas cozy, read straight or bit by bit through the season.
Neither snow nor rain nor mountains of yummy cheese stay the carrier of a letter to Santa.
So carelessly does 8-year-old Oliver stuff his very late letter to Santa into the mailbox that it falls out behind his back—leaving Winston, a “small, grubby white mouse” with an outsized heart, determined to deliver it personally though he has no idea where to go. Smith presents Winston’s Christmas Eve trek in 24 minichapters, each assigned a December “day” and all closing with both twists or cliffhangers and instructions (mostly verbal, unfortunately) for one or more holiday-themed recipes or craft projects. Though he veers occasionally into preciosity (Winston “tried to ignore the grumbling, rumbling noises coming from his tummy”), he also infuses his holiday tale with worthy values. Occasional snowy scenes have an Edwardian look appropriate to the general tone, with a white default in place but a few dark-skinned figures in view. Less-crafty children will struggle with the scantly illustrated projects, which run from paper snowflakes to clothespin dolls and Christmas crackers with or without “snaps,” but lyrics to chestnuts like “The 12 Days of Christmas” (and “Jingle Bells,” which is not a Christmas song, but never mind) at the end invite everyone to sing along.
A Christmas cozy, read straight or bit by bit through the season. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-983-6
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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