Nonna's Hanukkah Surprise

September 14, 2015
Rachel and her family celebrate Hanukkah, but this holiday season finds them visiting Rachel’s Italian paternal grandmother, who celebrates Christmas. Will one holiday upstage the other? Rachel feels better knowing that she’s bringing her new menorah, which is decorated with nine shielding-bearing female Maccabees. When the menorah is accidentally left on the plane, Rachel is sure that Hanukkah is ruined, but Nonna proves that family ties, open hearts, good food, and a homemade menorah (made from Nonna’s impressive collection of cut-glass perfume bottles) can make the holidays special for everyone. The idea of two exuberant cultures uniting for two very different holidays has lots of potential, and Avilés’s angular illustrations exude reassuring familial warmth. But Fisman’s story feels unnecessarily complicated, and Nonna winds up as more of a deus ex machina than a fully realized character. Ages 3–8.

September 1, 2015
When Rachel's special, new menorah is accidentally left on the plane, her resourceful Italian grandmother finds a way for the family to light candles and celebrate Hanukkah. Though Nonna and the cousins celebrate Christmas, Rachel and her family take a trip to visit and bring Hanukkah with them. Rachel carefully packs her carry-on bag with decorations, dreidels, chocolate gelt, candles for the eight nights, and a special hanukkiah on which each branch is shaped like a female Maccabee fighter. Sleepy after the long flight, Rachel forgets her bag when they get off the plane. Nonna is eager to help in the preparations for Hanukkah when Rachel realizes she doesn't have the menorah. Through tears of disappointment, Rachel teaches Nonna about the menorah. Nonna then surprises her with a clever and beautifully homemade menorah created from her treasured empty perfume bottles. This well-crafted story of an interfaith family focuses on the Hanukkah celebration, lightly blending Italian food-panettone and lasagna-with latkes at a dinner on the first night. Fisman adroitly incorporates the historical significance of Hanukkah into Rachel's discussion of the menorah, easily working it into a believable story. Pastel-colored drawings successfully extend the story's action, providing some foreshadowing and flashback scenes when Rachel leaves and remembers her forgotten bag. A lovely choice. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)

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October 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-Rachel loves her Italian grandmother, who always smells so wonderful, but worries that a December visit to Italy means she will miss Hanukkah, since her Italian relatives all celebrate Christmas. Her parents reassure her that they can bring the Hanukkah celebration with them and share it with her father's family. They even give her an early Hanukkah gift-a super cool menorah with a team of all-girl Maccabees to hold the candles! Rachel puts the menorah in her carry-on bag and then forgets it on the plane. The little girl is heartbroken, but her Nonna is a smart woman and, after having Rachel describe the menorah, comes up with the perfect, and perfumed, solution. The book includes a brief description of Hanukkah in the body of the story, with a paragraph at the end adding a little more. This title would make a fine read-aloud for a multicultural holiday storytime. Attractive illustrations in primarily in blues and greens are both humorous and tender. VERDICT Not much of a surprise, but a nicely told tale of a family living comfortably with different religions and traditions.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

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