One Magical Night!

While we are still in the eight days of Hanukkah I wanted to highlight another great tale of magic during the Festival of Lights. Whether you are Jewish or not you can appreciate this fun, imaginative tale and take its moral to heart.

“Zigazat: A Magical Hanukkah Night”
By Eric Kimmel
Illustrated by Jon Goodell
For Ages 4 – 9
Not every Hanukkah tale explains the origins of the holiday. For instance, “Zigazak” tells not of the lamp oil lasting for eight nights, but of a different sort of magic. This tale follows the misadventures of two devils as they descend upon the village of Brisk on the first night of Hanukkah. The devils play pranks — dreidels dance about on their own and latkes fly through the air. The scared villagers run to the wise rabbi in search of help and counsel. The rabbi shows no fear, but delights I the merriment of dancing dreidels and flying latkes. He offers to free the devils from evil and help them become servants of good, but when they refuse he outwits and defeats them.

Even it it’s fantasy, “Zigazak” does not shy away from a moral. The rabbi explains that there are sparks of goodness in all things —“even in devils’ tricks.” This knowledge helps the townspeople see the wonder around them and enjoy the most magical Hanukkah ever.

The dark illustrations portray the devils as grotesque beings and only bring a touch of humor to their eyes and expressions. The fear of the townspeople comes through in shadows and distortions. Even with the dark palette, though, the expressive illustrations keep the tale brisk and fun.

“Zigazak” is easily the most imaginative Hanukkah book I have ever read and it would make for great fun during bedtime stories throughout the holiday.

It's a Miracle!

Hanukkah is almost here! Oh, I know it's a minor holiday in Judaism, but the fact that the eight night Festival of Lights occurs between Thanksgiving and Christmas means it gets more secular attention than most Jewish holidays. Take a look at the bookstore — how many children's books do you see on the subject of Yom Kippur? There are plenty on Hanukkah though. Here is a review on a Hanukkah book my children enjoyed reading.

“It’s a Miracle! A Hanukkah Storybook”
By Stephanie Spinner
Illustrated by: Jill McElmurray
For Ages 4 – 8
This Hanukkah, young Owen Block is the OCL (official candle lighter) for his family’s Hanukkah celebrations. Each night as the grown-ups sing the blessings Owen lights a candle on his family’s menorah. Then at bedtime grandma kicks of her cowboy boots and tells Owen a story. She tells of a little girl who wants to become a rabbi, an alien who gets lost in a little girls backyard, a dentist with a performing parrot and much more. With each new story Owen discovers his family heritage and learns about the miracles of Hanukkah and his mother’s potato latkes.

The text is a little long, but Spinner does a nice job of keeping the story moving. She does a nice job balancing humor and sentimentality as each bedtime story illustrates the importance of family heritage for instilling pride and self-confidence in your heart.

McElmurray’s illustrations are bright and fun. A red headed girl on horseback flying through the sky, an alien spaceship hovering over the city, and a pickle juggler are just a few of the images that will keep you smiling as you read this heartwarming story about faith, family, and Hanukkah.

“It’s a Miracle” also contains the text of the Hanukkah story, three Hanukkah blessings (in English and Hebrew), and a Hebrew to English glossary.

Thanks for Everything!

Chapter One Reviews is very thankful this year. I am thankful to writers and illustrators for the many wonderful books I read. I am thankful for the ability to tell people about my favorites. I am thankful to you, my readers, for reading my opinions (I hope they help.) I am thankful for my family that indulges my addiction to books and encourages me to write this column. All of this Thanksgiving brings me to a new book about the famous Plimouth Pilgrims. Enjoy!

“Two Bad Pilgrims”
By Kathryn Lasky
Illustrated by John Manders
For 4 – 10
“Two Bad Pilgrims” is not your standard Thanksgiving fare. It is not a boring tale of pious, voyagers seeking religious freedom in the New World. It is the tale of America’s first troublemakers — Francis and Johnny Billington — real-life children who seemed to cause trouble wherever they went. Are you ready to hear their side of the story?

The Billington boys describe everything about the 66-day journey on the Mayflower — vomiting, boredom, playing with musket lighters and almost blowing up the ship. Following these rascals through the foundation of Plimouth Plantation, the “great sickness,” and eventual peaceful relations with the neighboring Nauset Indians we learn that the Pilgrims were a mixed bag of folks. Some were upright and pious as we have learned, but others were adventurers and ruffians who weren’t averse to digging up a few Native American graves.

The comic book-style art will capture the attention of young readers and the boys’ unruly adventures will keep them engaged to the very end of the book. “Two Bad Pilgrims” is laugh-out-loud funny and surprisingly educational. It’s filled with Pilgrim facts young readers will actually retain, which is great, as long as they don’t retain the bad behavior as well.

Whether you think you know everything about the Pilgrims or you’re just learning the story, “Two Bad Pilgrims” should be on your reading list. It will be great for those long trips over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house this Thanksgiving.

Holiday Magic!

Here comes Santa Claus! How many Santa Claus books will you read this year? I can't imagine, but I hope one of them will be "The Christmas Magic."

“The Christmas Magic”
By Lauren Thompson
Illustrated by Jon J. Muth
For Ages 3 – 10
Beautifully illustrated, this tale of Santa and his reindeer takes a far more solitary approach to Santa Claus than most. No elves. No glitz. Just a warm and thoughtful story about the magic of Christmas. The idyllic wintry setting has a strangely melancholy feel as blues and greys abound. But as Christmas grows near the elfin Santa gets a tingling in his whiskers and trades his bunny slippers and blue coat for a more traditional look. The magic grows stronger, the reindeer get excited, the sleigh is polished, and the illustrations take on a more lively tone with bold reds and touches of gold on the horizon. They never, however, reach the vibrant stage — a good move in this case. It would not have blended well with this philosophic Santa. This story uses hopeful prose and gentle illustrations of watercolor and pastel to create an endearing version of the Santa Claus legend. "The Christmas Magic" is a beautifully written and illustrated book that would make a great addition to any holiday collection. It also makes for a wonderful bedtime story.

Here Comes Auntie Claus

Over the next few weeks I will be reviewing several new holiday books — and maybe a few from years past. Its easy to get carried away with new books, so sometimes we need to remind ourselves of some good ones we may not have looked at in awhile.

"Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays"
By Elise Primavera
For ages 4 – 10
I am a big fan of Elise Primavera’s work. My family reads both “Auntie Claus” and “Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas” over and over during the Christmas holidays. Both books are a little long, but the stories move along pretty well and the illustrations are wonderfully detailed. So we never seem to mind the length. When we spotted “Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays” on our local bookstore’s shelf we sat right down and began reading.

In the newest tale Auntie Claus decides to stay home for the holidays. She wants Christmas in New York — the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, the 57th Street Snowflake, and The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. “Red will be the new black,” is Auntie Claus’ battle cry for the season. The North Pole must be moved to New York City, because how would Santa function without his sister? Chris and Sophie Kringle, the young stars of the two previous Auntie Claus tales, find everything very exciting. Then things begin to get a little too wintry.

The Auntie Claus books always have a morality story built into the tale. This one is no different. Sophie struggles with doing the right thing when the Sugar Plum Fairy needs to borrow a tutu for her performance in The Nutcracker. If Sophie gives up her tutu how will she be able to perform like the Sugar Plum Fairy in her own performance? The struggle is okay, but not as compelling an adventure as we have come to expect from Primavera.

I hate to say this, but it all gets a little too long. The illustrations are wonderful, vibrant and very Christmasy, but at a very full 40 pages, “Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays” need s more than visual stimulation to keep readers’ interest. Case in point, although I still enjoyed the new adventure, after about 30 pages it was obvious my kids’ interests were waning. We made it though and they said they loved it, so we will still round out our collection. However, I don’t foresee us reading “Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays” nearly as often, this holiday season, as the first two Auntie Claus tales.

Winter Tales

Halloween is past and Winter is creeping in. New books feature winter in all it's glory. Of course Christmas is very present on the bookstore shelves. So in the coming weeks you will find several reviews of Christmas books. But for now we'll just stick with stories set in the cold.


"The Geezer in the Freezer"
By Randall Wright
Illustrted by Thor Wickstrom
For ages 3 – 8
Thanksgiving is upon us, so its time to stock up the refrigerator and freezer. While you're at it be sure there are no geezers resting on rump roasts in the sub-zero. Randall Wright takes children on a ridiculous adventure in Aunt May's basement. From a little fright to giddy laughter this not-so-tall tale finds a lost love frozen to holiday pies and ice cream stored in the freezer. Only a young boy knows the truth for even his Aunt May doesn't believe what he has seen.

"Geezer" begs to be read aloud and in character. Children will laugh out loud as you work your way through corned beef hash, snow crabs and chili beans on your way to defrosting the freezer and warming up the geezer.


"The Magician's Elephant"
By Kate DiCamillo
For ages 8 – 14
Kate DiCamillo has such a poetic touch with her storytelling. She reaches into her bag and pulls out another fairytale, of sorts. In this tale of magic, hope, loss, and home, a 10-year-old boy named Peter Augustus Duchene is in search of something to cling to — a little hope. When a fortuneteller imparts information that his sister is still alive, Peter knows he must find her. Unfortunately, the fortuneteller also told him to follow the elephant and there are no elephants anywhere near the town of Baltese. At least not until a mostly forgotten magician performs powerful magic and an elephant drops through the ceiling of the opera house.

This haunting tale winds the stories of a magician, an elephant, a police officer, a feverish soldier, an orphan boy and several others into a tapestry of fate that will cast a spell of wonder on you. Not as dark or heavy as "The Tale of Despereaux," young readers will still recognize DiCamillo's deft wordsmithing as they travel through the somber atmosphere in search of a little light. Although some young readers will struggle to maintain interest in the thoughtful story others will not want to put it down.

Fright Night!

Holidays are a huge time for new books to hit the shelves. Each holiday has a built in audience already in the mood for stories pertaining to ghosts and ghouls, Santa, religious beliefs, love, leprechauns, turkeys, and so on. And just before Halloween straight through Valentine's Day the shelves are packed with new releases. So expect to see some reviews today and in the coming months that deal with holiday oriented books.

"Twelve Terrible Things"
By Marty Kelley
For ages 4 – 8
This picture book is light on words and heavy on visual storytelling. The images range from a trip to the dentist's office to peer pressure. The oft maligned monster under the bed makes and appearance as well. Unfortunately, as humorous as the illustrations are to adults it begs the question — do we really need to tell our children that a trip to the dentist is a terrible thing? Hasn't that cliché been hammered into the ground by now. Heck, most pediatric dentists have video games in the waiting room now and offer t-shirts to first time patients.

Clowns. Really? The comedians of the circus don't need any more bad press. Kelley's over-the-top birthday clown may actually cause children who are not afraid of clowns to develop the phobia. Enough already.

While the first person watercolor illustrations are enticing and the dark humor works for adults who can look back on their childhood fears and laugh, "Twelve Terrible Things" does little to help children overcome these fears. It may actually instill a few new ones.

"School of Fear"
By Gitty Daneshvari
For ages 8 – 12
When one's fears becoem a real hindrance and their parents have tried every alternative it is time to consider one last option — The School of Fear. The cover gives the impression that we are about to enter a dark and scary place. That, however, never actually happens. The story follows four teens with highly developed, over exaggerated phobias and one utterly insane school teacher. The story is really about friendship and relationships. The comic effect of the over exaggerated phobias combined with witty dialogue makes this a quick and entertaining read.

Unlike many books in the young adult genre with similar themes, this one contains no real violence or profanity. This fact compliments the light nature of the story. I especially enjoyed the phobias and their definitions that began each chapter.

"School of Fear" is by no means an award winning novel, but children who enjoy the "Heck" series may enjoy filling time between new releases with School of Fear.