FICTION

Hanukkah Is Coming!

by Tracy NEWMAN
Hanukkah Is Coming! illus. by Viviana Garofoli. 12p. Kar-Ben. 2015. Board $5.99. ISBN 9781467752411; ebk. $5.99. ISBN 9781467788373. LC 2014028831.
COPY ISBN
Toddler-PreS—In this board book, a rhyming couplet on each page ("We've practiced each song./We'll all sing along.") is followed by the words "Hanukkah is coming" as a round-faced family of mother, father, brother, sister, and dog light candles, fry latkes, exchange presents, eat gelt, and "march like Maccabees."
VERDICT An adequate but not particularly compelling offering for young children already familiar with the holiday.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Reviewed by light candles, fry latkes, sing songs, spin dreidels, and pretend to be Maccabees, all shown in warm digital-looking illustrations. The timeline is a titch confusing (are these scenes all in flashback? Is the family doing prep work? Are they imagining what Hanukkah will be like this year?), since it's not until the last spread that "Hanukkah is here!" But the "Hanukkah is coming" refrain, coupled with simple, child-friendly rhymes, is reassuring, and effectively builds anticipation for the Festival of Lights. Elissa Gershowitz
, Oct 01, 2015

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