Hanukkah books appeal to all ages

BETH OLSON
Staff Writer

Whether you're starting a collection for a new baby or looking to add titles to your library for school-age children, there are a variety of Hanukkah titles available for children of all ages.

Infants and toddlers:

"Eight Nights of Chanukah Lights" by Dian Curtis Regan, illustrated by Dawn Apperley (Little Simon, $4.99 hardcover)

This board book is an introduction to Hanukkah for young children.

The rhyming text is accompanied by pictures accented with textured sparkles, giving infants and toddlers a sensory experience along with the story.

This book is recommended for infants through age 3.

"Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" illustrated by Miriam Sagasti (Kar-Ben Copies, $4.95 hardcover)

This board book presents the song "Oh Hanukkah" in words and pictures. Also included on the back cover is the music to the song.

This book will appeal to children through age 4.

Preschoolers:

"Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah" by Sylvia A. Rouss, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn (Kar-Ben Copies, $6.95 paperback)

This Hanukkah edition of the Sammy Spider series has Sammy watching the Shapiros celebrate Hanukkah. When the little boy in the family receives a different color dreidel each night, Sammy longs for a dreidel, but, as his mother explains to him, "Spiders don't spin dreidels. Spiders spin webs."

The book also offers an opportunity to discuss colors and numbers.

This book is recommended for ages 2-4.

"Chanukah Bugs" by David A. Carter (Little Simon, $10.95 hardcover)

This new pop-up book from Simon & Schuster would make a great Hanukkah gift for any preschooler.

Each page of this book represents one night of Hanukkah. Each has a lift-the-flap colorful present, beneath which is found a pop-up holiday bug - from Shammash Bug to Dizzy Dreidel Bug to Golden Gelt Bug.

This book is recommended for children age 3-5.

"Eight Candles to Light: A Chanukah Story" by Jonny Zucker and Jan Barger Cohen (Barron's, $6.95 paperback)

A simple story with colorful illustrations, this book covers the basic traditions of Hanukkah including the menorah, the dreidel, the Maccabees, the latkes and, of course, the presents.

This book is recommended for ages 3-5.

Early elementary:

"Chanukah Lights Everywhere" by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Melissa Iwai (Harcourt, $16 hardcover)

In this beautifully illustrated book, a young boy finds a new light on each night of Hanukkah, as he celebrates with his family. Once the holiday is over, the lights he sees make him think about Hanukkah and being Jewish.

This book is recommended for ages 3-7.

"Sammy Spider's Hanukkah Fun Book" by Sylvia A. Rouss, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn (Kar-Ben Copies, $4.95 paperback)

This activity book, with games, puzzles, mazes and coloring pages, is recommended for ages 4-7.

Older elementary:

"How I Saved Hanukkah" by Amy Goldman Koss (Puffin Books, $4.99 paperback)

Marla is the only Jewish student in her class and her neighborhood. When the other students make Christmas decorations, the teacher gives her blue and white paper for Hanukkah and she feels singled out. She feels just as badly at home when every house on the street has Christmas lights except hers.

Not only does Marla feel excluded by all of the Christmas celebrations, but she's disappointed in her own family's celebration of Hanukkah - her mom doesn't know how to make latkes or play dreidel and no one is quite sure how the whole holiday of Hanukkah came about.

Marla and her best friend, Lucy, decide to find out more about Hanukkah - from talking to the Jewish owners of the local deli to visiting the library. They then convince Marla's mom to have a real Hanukkah celebration with a party on the last night.

This short novel is recommended for ages 8-11.

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