The Itsy Bitsy Dreidel

September 4, 2017
Having adapted “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other occasions, Burton, joined by Tornow, puts a Hanukkah spin (pun intended) on the nursery rhyme. A small yellow dreidel, part of a large family of colorful spinning tops, features prominently in Rescek’s cozy scenes, which show the dreidels preparing for the holiday. The meter of the rhymes doesn’t always match up terribly well with the song (“The itsy bitsy dreidel was reading from the Torah,/ learning about the rules of the menorah”), but they effectively touch on several fundamental aspects of Hannukah, and Rescek’s anthropomorphic dreidels are so adorable that readers singing along aren’t likely to mind. Ages 2–4.