1 comments about Feast of Lights: Young Adult Fiction.

1. From an independent press, this dark-colored, soft-covered offering with the passive title "Feast of Lights: A Young Adult Novel", is certain to get overlooked on bookshelves. The browsing reader who takes a closer look at the cover photo sees a somber, sad-eyed adolescent girl staring more at herself within than into the lighted Hanukkah menorah. Reader, please venture in! Don't be put off by the `young adult' designation--it is for readers ages 10 and up. Modern-day Sarah, age 12, and her parents are mourning the death of her little brother. Sarah's father wants nothing to do with the holiday festivities this year. Sarah and her mother for the first time decide to polish and use Great-grandma's menorah (Great-grandma Ruth is in a nursing home in failing health, and will be unable to comment on family history that comes to light). Each night when Sarah lights the candles she falls into a reverie which introduces her to her own relatives in generations past during different Hanukkahs in their lives. In some of the eight episodes Sarah is fully a part of history, and in others she is simply an observer. Written in a thoughtful, poignant style with time-travel elements similar to Yolen's "The Devils Arithmetic" and Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," "Feast of Lights" will have the reader eagerly turning the pages forward (and sometimes backward)to a satisfying closure for this elegant story.

1 comments about Passover Fun for Little Hands.

1. I was looking for some fun unique Passover craft ideas for my 3 1/2 year old. Unfortunatley I was a bit disappointed. (Maybe I had my hopes set to high) This book is overly simple and not very creative. It suggests making an eggshell mosaic to color in a picture of a seder plate and gluing sand on a pyramids on a picture of slaves in Eqypt.It also includes a few other pictures that you can color or cut out. Plus some lightweight cardboard activity cards with pictures on them top play "Old Maid" or "Concentration" with. All in all, you get what you pay for with this one. Not a waste but certainly not a big time winner-

2 comments about Stone Lamp, The: Eight Stories Of Hanukkah Through History.

1. I loved the idea of this book, and the cover was gorgeous. But the actual contents are exceptionally grim and are written in horrible "poetry," each told from the point of view of a child ruminating about his or her gruesome circumstances. The result is writing that is both depressing and static, and the "stories" aren't stories at all but the stream-of-consciousness thoughts of a child over the span of about five minutes.
   
   Unfortunately, the only attractive picture is the one on the cover, so not even the illustrations can save it.
   
   Alternative:
   Esther's Story by by Diane Wolkstein
   
   Truly jaw-dropping pictures and a fabulous retelling of the story.



2. I found this book in the library recently, and after reading it last night, I went online to order my own copy. The author beautifully and movingly traces the triumph of good over evil through the centuries. The glowing paintings underscore the love of Judaism that kept each storyteller strong in the face of adversity and committed to the fight for survival. I look forward to creating a new tradition this Hanukkah by reading one story each night with my family.

No comments about The Passover Story (Holiday Stories).

No comments about The Passover Passage.

No comments about The Finster Who Stole Christmas (All Grown Up (8x8)) (All Grown Up (8x8)).

No comments about Davey's Hanukkah Golem.

No comments about Make Your Own Megillah (Purim).

No comments about Jewish Prayer and Worship.

No comments about My Brother's Bar Mitzvah.