Hanukkah in Alaska

September 16, 2013
Marking her children’s book debut, Alaska-based columnist and commentator Brown crafts an informative Hanukkah tale accompanied by lovely acrylic and gouache illustrations by Schuett (Out of This World: Poems and Facts About Space). With just five hours of sunlight and freezing temperatures to fill her days in Alaska, a girl must also contend with the moose in her yard, where she prefers to make snow dreidels with friends. Even as Hanukkah’s lights glow brightly, she despairs of ever regaining control of her backyard. Children will gain information about Alaska as well as a clever holiday-themed idea for keeping moose at bay. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Christina A. Tugeau, CATugeau.

September 1, 2013
In Alaska, Hanukkah can have its own special festival of lights when conditions are just right to witness the aurora borealis, or northern lights. Living so far north presents challenges as well as the wonder of a wintry natural landscape. In a little girl's backyard, a moose has taken up residence, nibbling on the branches of the tree where the girl's swing hangs. While beautiful, the moose can also be dangerous. Luring him away with apples and carrots does not work, but when the girl and her family cautiously come out on the last clear night of Hanukkah to watch the colorful display in the darkened sky, a trail of latkes on the snow tempts the moose away from the swing, to the relief of this clever little girl. This story was first published in the anthology A Hanukkah Treasury, edited by Eric A. Kimmel (1998). In this picture-book rendition, Schuett illuminates the uniquely glacial atmosphere with realistic acrylic and gouache paintings that visually climax with a sash of skylight colors that emulates the melding of Hanukkah candle wax. The symbolism of the holiday is articulated in the little girl's final reflection: "Hanukkah can be pretty funny in Alaska, and miracles can happen in a lot of different ways." This refreshingly particular Hanukkah celebration effectively encourages readers to gain a new understanding of "miracle." (author's note) (Picture book. 5-7)

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October 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-Originally published as a story in A Hanukkah Treasury (Holt, 1998), this book is only nominally about the holiday. Rewritten and packaged as a picture book, it features a nameless young narrator who describes what it's like living in urban Alaska, where winters are short on daylight and long on snow, and where a hungry moose might choose to eat the trees in your backyard. Several pages into the book, readers learn that it is Hanukkah, but even pretending to be a spinning dreidel in the snow doesn't stop this girl from worrying about the moose, particularly when he gets too close to her swing. On the last night of the holiday, the girl's father takes her outside to behold the aurora borealis, "Our very own Hanukkah Festival of Lights." The glorious colors remind her of melting candles on the menorah, but then once again the girl is distracted by the moose, and finally has the clever idea of luring him out of the yard. Acrylic and gouache illustrations beautifully display the shadowy, rich palette of winter in Alaska, tempered by the glow of candles and the northern lights.-Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

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