Whether it's for a sense of inclusion, for convenience, or for marketing, the individual religious and cultural celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa often are lumped together as "the holiday season."
That can lead some people, especially children, to wonder what traditions come from their own heritage. That's what happens in "A Confused Hanukkah" (Dutton, $16.99, ages 5 and up) by Joy Koons and illustrated by S.D. Schindler, one of a handful of new books based on the Jewish Festival of Lights.
When it looks like the villagers in rural Chelm will have to celebrate Hanukkah without the guidance of their rabbi, they send a representative - a rather simple and forgetful soul named Yossel - to the nearby town of Tevka to brush up on how to observe the holiday.
Yossel, however, doesn't have a great sense of direction and he ends up in a much bigger city, much farther away, where the residents celebrate Christmas instead of Hanukkah. Yossel can't tell the difference.
So when he comes back to Chelm, he convinces his peers that they need to put up a large tree in the village square, decorated with matzo balls and dreidels, of course, and that a fat man in a velvet suit would need to make an appearance.
Most of the villagers don't remember these customs but they are convinced they're the modern way to do Hanukkah since the "new" Tevka is so much more advanced. But after Hanukkah Hershel arrives at a festival shouting "Oy! Oy! Oy! Happy Hanukkah!" a young boy speaks up.
"This isn't right," says Chaim.
Luckily the rabbi reappears on the scene just in time to get his neighbors back on track and to make sure Hanukkah Hershel has all the latkes he can eat.
In "Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah" (Dial, $10.99, ages 2 and up) by Susan L. Roth, the celebrants are a family of Jewish mice, who know when it's time to light the menorah and when it's time to dance the hora.
They also take time to honor their forefathers who lived long ago.
Roth's critters are made of collages of pieces of fabric and paper that are cut down to every detail, even the Hebrew letters on the dreidel and tiny gold coins for gelt.
"Spin the Dreidel!" (Little Simon, $7.99, ages 3 to 7) by Alexandra Cooper and illustrated by Claudine Gevry is a guide to the spinning top game that many parents remember playing as children but might not remember the rules.
The board book comes with a dreidel attached to the binding so young readers can play along with a family who trades chocolate gelt between bites of latkes and dessert.
The fried potato pancakes bring mixed feelings about the holiday for young Selma in "Papa's Latkes" by Michelle Edwards and illustrated by Stacey Schuett (Candlewick, $15.99, ages 5-7).
This is the first Hanukkah for Selma and her younger sister Dora without their mother, who died earlier in the year. The girls' hearts are still heavy but, like most children, they look forward to a holiday. Things get a little better when their Papa arrives carrying a 50-pound bag of potatoes, but his latkes aren't like their mother's.
The girls learn that they can both enjoy Papa's fat, brown latkes and remember their mother's lighter, crispier version.
(Jews eat latkes during Hanukkah because they are fried in oil that symbolizes the fuel that kept the candles lit in the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration.)
Families can learn to make their own latkes, beef brisket and even their own menorahs in "Jewish Holiday Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family" (Chronicle, $14.95) by Joan Zoloth with photographs by Lisa Hubbard.
There are activities for young children, such as making a menorah out of ceramic clay, and older kids, too. They're encouraged to tackle the "hardware nut menorah" which begins as a piece of wood and should end up as a glittery candleholder adorned with imitation jewels.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Back
