Hanukkah Picture Books to Light Up Your Night
It’s December, and Hanukkah is just around the corner! It’s never easy to feel apart from the dominant culture, and I remember this time of year always being difficult when I was younger (my mom calls it “Christmas Envy”). So, to combat those gloomy feelings, my family pored everything into creating magical, lasting Hanukkah memories: Brisket made with our secret family recipe, sizzling latkes that permeate the whole house with their delicious oily smell, watching the candles burn bright on our menorah, competitive games of dreidel (or just trying to see who can get their dreidel to spin upside-down the longest), and lots of waxy chocolate gelt!
Here are some of our favorite Hanukkah stories to read and celebrate with your kids:
When a boy winds up on a drifting iceberg after his ship to America sinks, he knows it will be a miracle if he makes it off alive. But it’s the first night of Hanukkah, and luckily, his mother packed him with everything he needs to celebrate! After lighting his menorah and spinning his dreidel, the boy gets a surprise visitor… a polar bear. Rather than eating him, however, the polar bear learns all about Hanukkah, enjoys some latkes, and provides the boy with warmth and freshly caught fish until he is rescued.
This heartwarming story of hope, friendship, selflessness, and resilience is a Hanukkah tale like none other.