Although Hanukkah arrives early this year, these holiday
stories are enduring and endearing.
They are books families want to return to again and again as the seasons
revolve, reminding us of time together.
Choose from among these long-lasting books to help make your winter
holidays memorable.
Below are several strategies to increase your child’s
involvement in stories and books:
·
Talk about the author and the illustrator. You might ask, can you think of other
books we know by this author/this illustrator?
·
As you re-read a favorite story together, leave
a gap for your child to fill in missing words. This works especially well with rhyming books, because your
child can often guess the last word.
You and your child might try other rhyming words, even if they don’t
make sense because it’s fun to play with language!
·
Ask your child, what do you think the character
is feeling? This can help to
foster compassion in your child as they talk about their own feelings and try
to imagine how someone else might feel.
·
When your child has new experiences, choose a
book to read together that features a related experience. Not only does this provide you and your
child time to talk about the book, it can often help the child to ask questions
about their own experience.
Discussing the unfamiliar eases the way toward familiarity and comfort.
The Eighth Menorah
by Lauren L. Wohl
illustrated by Laura Hughes
Albert Whitman, $16.99 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 1
(This
book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
A treasure hunt in nature helps Sam
and his classmates at Hebrew school find decorations to each create their own
Hanukkah menorah. Sam decides to
place the glowing silvery rock he found just below his clay menorah’s curved
hill shape.
But Sam’s family already has seven
menorahs! Each one has a special
story. What will he do with the
one he just created?
During Sam’s phone conversations
with his modern dressed Granny, he discovers that the condominium, where she
just moved, doesn’t allow candles for safety reasons -- except in the community
room where there is already an electric menorah. Keeping his menorah a secret gives Sam a chance to solve his
problem.
Cheery illustrations match this
gentle story. They accent the
relationships at school, in the family and among the neighbors in the
condo. At the end are instructions
on how to play the dreidl game.
When Christmas Feels
Like Home
by Gretchen Griffith
illustrated by Carolina Farias
Albert Whitman, $16.99 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This book is available to
purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
Luminous illustrations accompany
the lyrical text of this immigrant story.
Young Eduardo leaves an unnamed Latin American country village with his
family for a town in the US.
It doesn’t feel like home. Even his
familiar futbol (soccer ball) is shaped differently from the ball he and his
new friends in the neighborhood use to play football with.
Family members offer support. “Some things take time,” says Tio
Miguel. It will feel like home when
the mountain turns the “color of the sun,” “pumpkins will smile,” trees will
become “standing skeletons,” and words will “float like clouds from your
mouth.”
Spanish words and phrases enhance
this reassuring tale, with repetition in
English or use in illustrations or context. Comforting autumn colors match the
narrative. Just before Christmas,
when it’s time to set out the hand-carved Nativity set Eduardo made with his
grandfather, the predictions have come true.
The 12 Days of
Christmas
by Jane Cabrera
Holiday House, $16.95 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten –
Grade 2
(This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
This new version of a favorite
carol appeals to children of all ages.
Beginning with a “party in a pear tree,” this chipper adaptation
includes two drumming dogs, three cute cats, and four magic mice.
The warmly dressed boy and girl
(true loves!) gather with the animals around an outdoor tree, lit by five
shining stars. Sunny acrylic
illustrations feature animated animals (except for the “6 bears a-snoozin”!).
Following are seven squirrels
skiing, eight elves a-baking, nine foxes sledding, ten snowmen singing, eleven
reindeer dancing, and twelve penguins skating. Each is doing something familiar.
Santa arrives by sleigh to take the
children home. Easy to sing lyrics, with music notation, are at the end.
Hanukkah Bear
by
Eric Kimmel,
illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka.
Holiday House, $16.95 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior
Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This book
is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
It’s the first night of
Hanukkah. Old Bear is wakened from
his winter sleep by the delicious smells of Bubba Brayna’s potato latkes. Although ninety-seven years old, she’s
not able to “hear or see as well as she used to.” Still, Bubba Brayna’s latkes are the village’s best.
Everything is ready for the rabbi’s
visit when she opens the door to Old Bear. Making him welcome as the rabbi, she lights the
menorah. They play dreidel with
nuts, and together they eat latkes. She even wraps a red knitted scarf around
Old Bear’s neck. She wishes the “Rabbi” a Happy Hanukkah before he leaves.
Candlelit acrylic illustrations
create a cozy kitchen scene. While
a crescent moon and starlit snowy night sky emphasize the outdoor contrast with
the warmth inside.
When the real rabbi shows up, it’s
the village children who discover the bear’s tracks. All her friends help in
making more latkes to eat together.
Well-known for his retelling of
folktales and legends, award-winning author Kimmel has revised this well-loved holiday
story (The Chanukkah Guest). With new illustrations, it is a slightly
shortened version of a timeless tale.
A latke recipe is included at the end.
More great holiday choices:
Princess Posey and
the Christmas Magic
by Stephanie Greene
llustrated by Stephanie Roth
Sisson.
Penguin, $4.99 (paperback)
$13.99 (hardcover)
Interest Level:
Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This
book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com) 86 pages, ten chapters.
Hanukkah in Alaska
by Barbara Brown
illustrated by Stacey Schuett
Henry Holt, $$16.99 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This book is available to purchase
from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
The Smallest Gift of
Christmas
by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick, $14.00 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten –
Grade 2
(This book is available to
purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
The Christmas Cat
by Maryann Macdonald
illustrated by Amy June Bates.
Dial, $16.99 (hardcover)
Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2
(This book is available to purchase
from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)
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