Hanukkah Books to Make You Happy

Check out the new Hanukkah books this year to bring Jewish Joy to your children.

Board Books

Construction Site Hanukkah Lights

Sherri Duskey Rinker,
Shawna J. C. Tenney (illustrator)

The adorable Construction Site crew celebrate Hanukkah in the newest entry of this board book series. This cute lift the flap board book combines construction trucks and Hanukkah symbols as the crew lights another candle each night.

Happy HanukKAT

Jessica Hickman, 
Elissambura (Illustrator)

This adorable Hanukkah board book is pawsitively purrfect for your little ones. The cat family celebrates together, enjoying all the traditions: the menorah, latkes, dreidel and gelt. They celebrate just like me, except that the kiddies are kitties. Jessica Hickman joyful story is written in cute rhyming text and the cute colorful illustrations by Elissambura are adorable. This would make a fantastic Hanukkah gift for you own little ketzel. This Bubbie shared it with her three year old little one and he loved it. Wish your family a Happy Hanukkat!

Hanukkah 1-2-3!

Joy Nelkin Wieder, 
Aura Lewis (illustrator)

This adorable board book will introduce Hanukkah to your little one and help teach counting at the same time. Joy Nelkin Wiedner counts out Hanukkah symbols in a sweet little rhyme. Each spread has a blue page with a large numeral and the accompanying text underneath. The opposite page has a cute illustration by Aura Lewis showing children enjoying the Hanukkah item. This book is perfect for a child’s first library and would make a great Hanukkah gift.

Picture Books

Banana Menorah

Lee Wind, 
Karl West (Illustrator)

This silly story will have you giggling on every turn of the page. The family is on vacation and a youngster’s fathers packed the candles but forgot to pack a menorah. With a bit of creativity, they create their own menorahs during vacation. The author mixes the silly with a comforting repetitive phrase. “it was comfy. “And cozy. Tried and true and everything I was used to.” Besides just being a lot of fun, the book sends several important messages. It isn’t the fancy menorah that is important, it is lighting the candles with those you love. Creativity can save the day. The other important message sent by this book is the understated message that families come in many forms.

The Book of Candles:
Eight Poems for Hanukkah

Laurel Snyder, 
Leanne Hatch (illustrator)

This sweet book show a family celebrating Hanukkah by describing each evening with a poem. Usually it is just the immediate family, one night is a big family gathering, one night the candles are lit after sunset, because of a busy day. Through it all the blue and purple pallet in the illustrations by Leanne Hatch paints a calm that reflects the peace one gets while staring at the flickering candles. The text is not simple rhymes aimed at preschoolers, but more lyrical poems that will appeal to school age and adults. The author also includes text boxes with additional information for older readers. This lovely picture book is a perfect change of pace from the usual roundup of cute dreidel and latke stories.

Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Hanukkah Party!

Leslie Kimmelman, 
Tom Brannon (illustrator)

Dr Seuss’s Horton is a classic that is loved by the young and the young at heart. Leslie Kimmelman’s tale tells a new Horton story with a Hanukkah twist. Horton keeps hearing joyful noise, but no one believes him until the final night of Hanukkah, when the Whos and a tiny menorah with all nine candles ablaze finally appear in the forest. Kimmelman’s fun rhymes are reminiscent of Dr Seuss’s style and they mention all the Dr Seuss favorite characters along the way. The bright colorful pictures by the prolific Sesame Street and Dr Seuss illustrator Tom Brannon capture all the characters original appearance. My young grandchild loved this story, but I think that I enjoyed it even more. This fun book is a perfect holiday story for the little ones and a trip down memory lane for adults.

A Dragon Called Spark

Lily Murray, 
Kirsti Beautyman (Illustrator)

“A Dragon Called Spark: a Hanukkah story” is not really about Hanukkah, so much as about the miracles of friendship and imagination. Lily Murray breaths fire into this heart warming tale about a lonely young girl who’s only companion is her imaginary dragon. The story is simple and sweet, and her words are brought to life by magical illustrations by Kirsti Beautyman. The dragon shimmers in golden hues like the spark of the flames on the Hanukkah candles. Lily’s mother and sister assume that he is imaginary, after all no one but Lily can see him. so it would take a miracle for Spark to have a dragon friend. But Hanukkah is a time for miracles and when Lily makes friends who believe that her dragon is real, they can eventually see him and even wish for dragons of their own. This story is set during the holiday, and the action does include lighting a menorah. But the theme of the story is universal. Imagination and friendship can bring about miracles.

Eight Fairy Nights

Bub

Eight Fairy Nights is an innovative retelling of the Hanukkah story that focuses on the fact that the Maccabees stood up for what is right and the important character traits that would have been necessary. In this variation, there are eight Hanukkah Fairies who each represent one of those characteristics. This lays the setting for two interactive activities. The book includes daily message cards from the Hanukkah Fairy queen to be used before Hanukkah and help build the excitement. Each card should be used with new riddles for kids to solve. (Sample riddles are provided to get you started, and then the adults can provide new ones each year.) The book also has Fairy Cards that explain the trait such as creativity or organization and provide inspiration for a gift each night that will help develop or reinforce a different one of those traits. This delightful book will help bring inspiration and relevance of the Hanukkah story to a new generation.

Golem Loves Latkes: A Tasty Hanukkah Tale

Doreen Klein Robinson, 
Anna Krajewska (Illustrator)

It’s the age old question: apple sauce or sour cream? No matter what you prefer on your latkes, you will love “Golem Loves Latkes”. This tasty story serves up a life lesson with a lot of humor on top. Start with a whole town who are arguing about which topping is better. Add in an accidental golem who doesn’t care at all what topping he uses, and mix in a generous portion of Yiddish and you end up with a silly story that is more fun than Jelly donuts. The story is narrated by a young girl who chases her hungry golem as he goes from house to house eating up the latkes with a variety of toppings. The adorable illustrations by Anna Krajewska will entertain readers as much as the story itself. As I read this book to my young grandson, we giggled about all the silly toppings. Latkes with sour cream on top, latkes with applesauce on top… when we got to the illustration of the plate piled high, he said “Latke with latkes on top!” If you look at that picture, you can see all sorts of items in with the latkes. The adult reader will enjoy all the Yiddish, and appreciate how the clay golem was accidently created. Without giving spoilers, I will say it was quite clever and the text and illustrations worked beautifully together. When all the silliness is over, it is the child who teaches the adults a lesson. Hanukkah is about freedom. So when you fry up those latkes this year, feel free to choose whatever topping you want. The afterward includes explanations about the story of Hanukkah, why we eat latkes, the legend of the golem, a discussion of the concept of Shalom Bayit and a glossary of Yiddish words. This Bubbie and her little one loved the book and I look forward to reading it every Hanukkah season for years to come.

Lost and Found Hanukkah

Joy Preble, 
Lisa Anchin (artist)

This sweet inclusive story delves past the Hanukkah celebration customs and reflects the true meaning of the holiday. When Nate and his fathers moves to a new apartment his menorah was lost in the move and Nate is feeling lost as well. He misses his menorah, his old home, friends, school and neighborhood. Joy Preble has crafted a story that moves from a lost menorah to a lost cat. When shopping for a chanukiah, Kugel the shop cat dashes off into the cold. Nate finds the missing cat, but he also finds an interesting piece of wood. Just as the temple had been reclaimed long ago, he reclaims that wood when he hones it into a hand made menorah. Daddy tells the story of Hanukkah and explains the concept of rededication. “You miss what you had before, but you celebrate what you got back. You remember what it took to get there. ” He may miss his old home, but he has a new home, a new menorah, a new friend and the new kitten she gives him as thanks for finding her cat. This sweet tale is ideal for kids with same sex parents or kids who are facing a recent move, but it is a story that will appeal to any Jewish child. This book can be reread each year as a reminder about resilience and rededication.

The Mouse Who Loved Latkes

Joy Nelkin Wieder

Your own little kiddies will love these kitties. When the Katz family moves in, tiny C.J. the mouse is scared to come out. But the aroma of fresh jelly donuts is too much to resist. He is surprised when he is actually befriended by the kitten. Jewish kids will love reading this cute Hanukkah story, but kids from other cultures will enjoy learning a little bit about the holiday. This tale of unexpected friendship will also teach youngsters the universal lesson that friends can come in all shapes and sizes. The author includes some clever jokes aimed at older readers. A mouse named after a cheese and a cat family with the Jewish name of Katz are followed by a few other ideas that will amuse the reader. The author illustrator has created soft earth tone and pastel pictures that all will enjoy.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Hanukkah

Talia Benamy, Aura Lewis (Illustrator)

Twinkle, Twinkle, Hanukkah is a cute rhyming picture book that takes the reader through the Hanukkah celebration. Youngsters may know the simple preschool song “Twinkle, Twinkle Hanukkah Lights” which teaches the holiday with a familiar tune and hand motions. This book takes the concept a step further. We start with “Twinkle, twinkle menorah” and read about candles and dreidels. But the book goes beyond the party and talks about some important ideas too: the history, celebrating with family near and far. And placing the menorah in the window to spread the light. The watercolor illustrations by Aura Lewis are sweet and simple, The afterward discusses the Hanukkah story and all these activities in more detail for the adult reader. This background makes the book appropriate for those who want to learn about the holiday as well as those who celebrate.

Young Adult

Eight Dates and Nights

Betsy Aldredge

Two teens with two very different ideas of how to spend Hanukkah learn to work together to save the last Jewish remnant in small town Texas in this cozy holiday romance!

Interested in other holiday suggestions?

Check out my other Holiday blog posts!