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Saturday, November 02, 2013

The Eighth Menorah by Lauren Wohl - Win a signed copy

The Eighth Menorah by Lauren Wohl -  Share a Fact or Share a Book and Win a Signed Copy

This year Hanukkah will be observed during November - the first full day in fact will be November 28. So this seemed like a great time to share a new book with readers of this blog.  Lauren Wohl, a writer who has spent decades in the publishing world, has written a picture book that will focus readers on traditions of the seasons.  Menorahs are an integral part of the Jewish holiday.  Wohl's story focuses in on the treasured family Menorah in Sammy's family.   Often children will make a Menorah for their family to use and each of them are unique and different.  Elaborate Menorahs are often family treasures and are passed down, generation to generation.  Wohl's story shares the importance of Menorahs (and tradition) in Sammy's family.  Laura Hughes, an illustrator based in London, has created wonderfully impressive illustrations for this book.
Now comes the best part - at least for you, the reader.  The publisher, Albert Whitman, has made an offer to contribute a signed copy of The Eighth Memorah to a reader of this blog.  So all you have to do to be considered for the free book will be to comment on this post and give us ONE historical fact about Hanukkah or share ONE title (author, publisher, date) of one other favorite book for the Hanukkah season.  That's all there is.  On November 16th, I will put the names of all the comment makers in the virtual hat and identify the winner.  You will be notified via e-mail (the winner's name will also be posted on this blog) and asked for your U.S. mailing address so we can send the book to you.  Comment and then watch your e-mail November 16th.  
COMMENTS CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT on November 15th.

So here's MY fact--(your fact does not need to be so lengthy, I just got curious about the dates. )

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah on the same date in 2013

In 1863, a common date for the celebration of Thanksgiving in all states was established by President Abraham Lincoln's presidential proclamation.  That year the official Thanksgiving date in all states was to be the final Thursday of November.  The date in 1863 was November 26, 1863.  Eventually in 1941 the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution to designate the FOURTH Thursday as the official holiday date regardless of whether or not there are four or five Thursdays in the month of November.  This year that proclamation puts Thanksgiving on November 28, 1013.
November 26, 1863
November 28, 2013 
These two dates are the dates of Thanksgiving but they are also the date that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah.  Since the origination of Thanksgiving this aligning of the dates has only occurred twice: once in 1888, this year in 2013, and the alignment will not occur again for another 77,798 years.  So clearly this will be the only time any of us will celebrate the holidays at the same time.  November 28, is the first full day of Hanukkah (traditionally Hanukkah begins the previous night) and that date is also the fourth Thursday.  

And just to be safe here is one of my favorite Hanukkah Latke books.

Edwards, Michelle.  Papa's Latkes.  Candlewick, 2004. 

The first Hanukkah celebration without Mama, and Papa attempts to keep the tradition of making potato latkes alive -- with mixed results.

Questions - e-mail us at Sharron@mcbookwords.com

Update: Suzanne Costner was sent the autographed copy of Wohl's The Eighth Menorah.  Congratulations Suzanne.

17 comments:

  1. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel makes a great read aloud! (Holiday House, 1989) I also like The Power of Light : Eight Stories for Hanukkah.
    swalters@bsdvt.org

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    1. Eric Kimmel's book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is a favorite here too. He talks about Hershel, and several of his other books, including his 2012 The Golems Latkes on the Reading Today Blog entry at http://bit.ly/Kimmel5. Very Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Well, I'd have said Hershel, too, especially because it makes such a good read aloud. But I'll give my favorite fact I learned reading a different Hanukkah book. I remember the fact and not the title. If you get egg shell in a batter, the easiest way to get it out iis by touching it with the rest of the egg shell. It acts like a magnet! And Sharon, you told all the facts I learned at services, so I have no facts either. I hope this counts. Kim kdabooks@verizon.net

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    1. It counts. Interesting tip - and I would love to know the book title. Was this a book about Hanukkah that you got the tip from? Thanks for the "vote" for Hershel - check out his Golem's Latkes (2012) and compare it to Strega Nona and all those other "magic pot" themed stories. Wonderful set of compare/contrast story grammar titles - meets one of the major common core activities/standards.

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    2. If you haven't read "The Christmas Menorahs: a town that fought hate" (Concept Books-Albert Whitman) by Janice Cohen, it's a must-read that combines both the Christian and Jewish beliefs and bullying. I try to read it every year. Based on a true story. Mary...pcelibrary at gmail dot com.

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  3. Toby Belfer Never had a Christmas Tree written by Gloria Teles Pshker (1991). The rules for the game of Dreidel are included in the back of the book. Dreidels in Israel have a Pey instead of a Shin because in Israel "A Great Miracle Happened HERE" and dreidels in the rest of the world have the Shin because the expression is "A Great Miracle Happened THERE!"

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    1. Thanks for the book recommendation -- and the Dreidel fact is a fun fact that is new to me. Readers can obtain directions for making a paper Dreidel (and a template) at http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/inside/hanukkah/paper_dreidels - but since they don't spin fast enough to actually play the game you might want to check out http://www.chocolategelt.com/. I'm assuming these Dreidels are the ones with the Shin.

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  4. Another favorite author, Patricia Polacco, wrote The Trees of the Dancing Goats (1996) in which a Jewish family helps to make Christmas special for neighbors stricken with scarlet fever during an epidemic one Michigan winter and in the process produced their own Hannukah miracle. Fact: there is no correct spelling for Channukah in English because it is transliterated from Hebrew so everyone spells it differently, depending on how it sounds to them.

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    1. Love love this book. Patricia Polacco is such a talented writer and illustrator. Be sure to check out her website at http://www.patriiciapolacco.com. And I always wondered about the spelling - interesting fact. Thank you!

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  5. Last entry, Malke's Secret Recipe, a Chanukah Story written by David A. Adler (1989) Kar-Ben Copies, Inc, In the foolish town of Chelm, Berel the shoemaker attempts to duplicate the secret recipe of Malke's potato pancakes, but his wife's interference makes his plan go awry. Recipe in the back. Fact. you need a box with 44 candles for all the nights of Hannukah because of the helper candle, Shamash and you don't blow out the candles but let them burn down and go out on their own.

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    1. Love any book with a recipe - so of course this one will be a favorite. This makes me think of D Is for Dreidel: A Hanukkah Alphabet Book by Tanya Lee Stone (Penguin, 2002). I had forgotten that I featured Stone and her book in my book Authors in the Kitchen: Recipes, Stories, and More -- of course "L Is for Latkes" in Stone's book and we have a recipe in the book about authors and food. Lots of fun to make those as well. Thanks for the candle information 44 - quite a number.

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  6. I do a week-long unit on Hanukkah with my students each year. Their favorite books are always the Eric Kimmel stories - The Chanukah Guest, The Magic Dreidels, Zigazik! and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. One of my fifth graders told me last year that the Hershel story is the best book I ever read to them.

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  7. Suzanne - thank you for sharing. Eric Kimmel is one of the best. I love all of his books. If you haven't read The Golem's Latkes -- take a look. Since we are on a "latke" sub topic here.
    Sharron

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  8. For the last few years I have read Harvest of Light by Allison Ofanansky as one of my Chanukah read-alouds. I love that it is illustrated with photographs, making it something that my mostly non-Jewish population can connect with. The process of the olive harvest is interesting to the children, and the narrative voice of the little girl makes for an intimate connection to her experience of the holiday. Invariably, my students delight in her pleasure that some of the oil she helped produce is used to light the menorah on the first night.
    (Kar-Ben Publishing, September 2008.)

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    1. Tania,
      This is a new title to me. I appreciate the addition to my list of Chanukah books and will certainly seek this one out. Thank you for the annotated recommendation.
      Sharron

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  9. In 165 B.C.E, the Jewish Maccabees managed to drive the Syrian army out of Jerusalem and reclaim their temple. Hanukkah is the celebration of this victory. And here is a haiku I wrote him and Thanksgivukkah.
    Judah M has oil.
    He gave it to the Pilgrims,
    Mmm. Deep fried turkey.

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  10. Fact: A dreidel in Israel has the letters Nun, Gimel, He, and Pe, which stands for "a great miracle happened here." Other places have dreidels with the letters Nun, Gimel, He, and Shin: "a great miracle happened there."

    My favorite book is Latkes, Latkes Good to Eat by Naomi Howland.

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