1 comments about The Mystery Bear: A Purim Story.

1. The little bear in the story has just awokefrom his hibernation. He goes out of the woods in search of some food. He finds himself at a home where there is a Purim celebration going on. The people see the bear and think that he must be just a child dressed up for the parade. They invite him in the house for a feast. After eating so much food the bear is ready for a nap. The family tries to wake him so he can take part in the play. He gives a loud growl and they find out he is a real bear!
   
   
   
   What did you like or not like about the book?
   
   I had never heard of Purim before. The note in the back explained the holiday well.

No comments about Starlight and Candles: The Joys of the Sabbath.

2 comments about All Abou Hanukkah.

1. The book tells the story clearly and concisely; the illustrations (new this year) are colorful and eye-catching, but what sets the book apart are the discussion themes for each of the eight nights -- suggestions for families to chat about while the candles are burning (what it means to be free, gifts and giving, what makes a hero, and more. There's also music and recipes to round out the holiday celebration.



2. I bought this book for my niece who was curious about Hanukkah and it answered most of her questions. It is well illustrated and written. I enjoyed it myself.

5 comments about Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg.

1. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the wit and wisdom of Penina. Rebecca O'Connell's book taps in to the frustration we all have felt when an authority figure (in this case, a teacher with a fixation on the Easter bunny) disregards our most diligent efforts to be understood. Start with a Passover feast, add an annoying younger sister, an empathetic friend, and a rich seasoning of humor...and you have the recipe for a rewarding reading experience.



2. Tenacious sixth-grader Penina struggles to retain her beliefs, trust in adults, and humor while going through what seems like unfair obstacles in the course of growing up. Will an impossible assignment, troublesome younger sister, unsympathetic parents, tricky friend, and attending a school where her heritage is in the minority, weaken her or give her strength? Is telling the TRUTH and self-control always better than just DARING to pay for the consequences of one's actions?
   Rebecca O'Connell manages to have all readers experience with Penina the joys and struggles of one's heritage in this flowing story. It is not until the reader of any background has finished enjoying the book that they realize the wealth of information they've gleaned not only about the Jewish culture, but the unique beauty of their own as well.
   As a school librarian I recommend this must-have library book to students who want to laugh at the important daily issues of grouping up, as well as to students and teachers interested in diversity. This is one of the few young adult books that lovingly DARES to be sensitive to such major topics.



3. The girl is spunky, truthful, hardheaded, true to her beliefs and most importantly, very believable. Although written for maybe 8-11 year olds, Penina is very much beloved by my 6 year old, a self described "agnostic" and myself a tripped off the religion wagon ex-Catholic with a Jewish father. It is a great book for helping my daughter explore her Jewish heritage and a great starting point to discuss religion, faith, beliefs, traditions, and how much she dislikes dealing with her little sister. It has a wonderful "conversation starter" in my house. Penina Levine is a real find.



4. Penina Levine is one of only two Jewish sixth graders in Mrs. Anderson's class in public school. The class has been given an assignment to write letters "from the Easter Bunny" to kindergarten kids in the nearby Holy Family School. Penina strongly believes she should not write the letter because she is Jewish and Easter is a Christian holiday. She doesn't tell her parents about the assignment because she feels they don't listen to her and favor her younger sister, Mimsy. She does tell her grandmother however, when they are preparing the meal for the Passover Seder. Her grandmother says she is like a hard-boiled egg because when you boil it, it gets hard, just like the Jews: "When the heat is on, we don't turn to mush-- we get tougher." Her grandmother is proud of her for sticking up for her religion and not writing the letter. Eventually Penina tells her parents about the assignment and they tell the principal, who then talks to the class about diversity. Mrs. Anderson, Penina's teacher, apologizes and Penina and her family invite her to a Shabbat dinner. The story moves along briskly and Penina is an appealing and feisty Jewish character with much humor. The various black and while line drawings complement the text. For ages 9 -12.



5. My 9 year old granddaughter cried when she finished the book. Not because it was sad but because her " favorite book EVER " ended. Can there be a better review ?
   I am a little sad too, because we have to wait till September for the next Penina book. But, Ahh, the anticipation.

1 comments about Sammy Spider's Hanukkah Fun Book.

1. I was looking for something that would be educational as well as entertaining and this book was just confusing. I don't get the Spider thing associated with Hanukkah Fun.

4 comments about Hanukkah, Shmanukkah!.

1. I don't think you need to hypersensitive to find this book offensive, and not in a redeeming way. The characters in the original story are not particularly ethnic, but in this book they are very ethnically Jewish. While I realize that Scroogemacher turns out to be nice, and I don't claim the book is meant to be offensive, the idea of a Jewish Scrooge is not a stereotype that needs reinforcement, especially to kids.



2. I admit it: this review is in response to the reviewer who called "Hanukkah, Shmanukkah" "offensive and weird." Having grown up on "A Christmas Carol," I was curious to see how Jewish tradition would be worked into the story, and why the first reviewer found it so offensive.
   
   Scroogemacher is the miserly owner of a garment sweatshop in turn-of-the-century New York City. He forces his immigrant workers to work overtime on the last night of Hanukkah, and is visited by the Rabbis of Hanukkah Past, Present, and Future. Scroogemacher is transported to the time of Judah Maccabee, in the middle of the battle to reclaim the Temple, to the crowded tenements where his workers live, and finally, to see his nephew's possible futures based on his choices.
   
   So how did Jewish tradition hold up? The Rabbi of Hanukkah present is a female rabbi, and the text addresses Reform Judaism implicitly. Scroogemacher is outraged when, in the future, he is surrounded by Christmas decorations and music instead of his more familiar Jewish world, to which the rabbi replies, "What can I say? They have good decorations." Liberal sprinklings of Yiddish (a glossary is included) and humorous writing make this an original take on Dickens' work rather than a poor imitation. The artwork evokes a sort of Old World style that works well with the text.
   
   So, to the reviewer who thought that "Hanukkah, Shmanukkah" was offensive and weird, how many other Jewish children's books make an attempt to address the inescapability of Christmas and Christianity in American society while intelligently discussing the immigrant experience (the poignant tale of Scroogemacher's wife being sent back to the Old Country because of trachoma), Reform Judaism, the widening gap between Jewish as secular cultural identity and Judaism as religion, and workers' rights?
   
   How is (Jewish) Scroogemacher a worse influence than the greedy, stingy Christian personified by Scrooge? The important thing is that both find redemption and closer ties to their respective family and cultures. Dickens' Christmas Carol values seem based on tikkun olam, the Jewish commitment to healing the world. "Hanukkah, Shmanukkah" at least attempts to bridge the gap between the multitude of bright, colorful Christmas books for children and the lack of appropriate Jewish-themed books for older children ("Hanukkah, Shmannukah" is suggested for readers ages 9-12). Starting with a universal holiday tale of redemption, it enfolds the warmth and light of Hanukkah, the power of love to transform, and the strength of Jewish tradition. A beautiful, thought-provoking read that brightened my Hanukkah.



3. The author has done her homework and come up with a winner, would even make a nice TV holiday special with an ecumenical plot, if done right. This book is necessary!



4. This re-telling of Dickens's Christmas Carol is charming, warm and friendly. It presented a story I knew in a new perspective, and I learned things about Jewish culture that I didn't know before. The illustrations are wonderful.
   
   Jewish friends to whom I showed this book are planning to read this story to their children at Hanukkah.
   
   A previous review stated that Dickens' Christmas Carol wasn't ethnic. Yes it was -- it was incredibly WASP ethnic. This re-telling doesn't reinforce stereotypes, but shows how much we all have in common.

No comments about A Wilderness Passover (Northern Lights Books for Children).

No comments about Hanukkah Mice.

No comments about The Rugrats' Book of Chanukah (Rugrats (Simon & Schuster Paperback)).

No comments about Hanukkah Fun for Little Hands (Hanukkah).