Hello, Hanukkah!

Product Description

“Hello, Hanukkah!” says the friendly badger as he prepares to count the candles in the Hanukkah menorah. This whimsical board book features a cute and clever badger teaching counting and coloring concepts along with Hanukkah customs.

Review

“This delightful Hanukkah board book combines counting, colors, and a variety of holiday traditions in an inviting package. On each spread, a young badger participates in a Hanukkah tradition, followed by lighting a certain number of candles in a specific color. Badger opens the candles and lights one red candle, plays dreidel, and lights two orange candles, etc. For the final eight candles, the badger family says the blessings and fills the menorah with a rainbow of candles, including a white shamash. The story is appropriately simple for a board book audience, but still hits most of the rituals, including making latkes, telling the story, singing songs, and eating gelt. The text is beautifully concise and accessible, but the real star here is the artwork. Done in a layered collage style reminiscent of Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, the renderings look so tactile that children will want to touch them. They are done in bright, appealing colors, with single or two-color backgrounds, and only the items needed for each activity are pictured. Toddler’s eyes will be drawn to the numbers, the candles, and Badger and his friend bird. Readers will need to be familiar with the holiday, as there is very little explanation; however, families in search of simple books for toddlers will find this fits the bill.
VERDICT This is a perfect Hanukkah package of colors, counting, and traditions. All libraries serving Jewish ­patrons will want to add this little gem to their board book collections.” ― Amy ­Lilien-Harper, ­Wilton Lib., CT, School Library Journal

About the Author

Susan S. Novich finds inspiration in the tiny scraps of paper that other people would likely throw away. She has a BA from Simmons College and a certificate in Children’s Book Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband, Bruce, and dog, Coco, a rescued Havanese.