Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Hanukkah! OY Hanukkah!

Hanukkah is really a minor holiday in Judaism-or it was for many, many years. But because it's so close to Christmas, which is, let's face it, the holiday to beat all holidays, it has become bigger and well, brighter. Better? I'm not going to argue about whether it's good or bad-it just is.

So let's CELEBRATE!! The first thing you should do, of course, is buy my book. Why? Well for one thing, Celebrate Hanukkah with Light, Latkes and Dreidels, has the best recipe EVER for potato latkes--mine! And there are beautiful pictures of people all over the world celebrating Hanukkah. Not only that, but if you read it you'll learn the story of why we celebrate Hanukkah for eight days. Hint: it didn't start with the oil….What? I guess you'll have to buy the book! (Shameless, shameless, I know, but when you believe in something, you just have to stand up for it, like the Macabees did, and I believe in this book!)

If you turn to the back page of the book, page 32, you'll see I dedicated it to my friend Mea. Why? I'll give you a hint: the dedication reads: To Mea, who saved the latkes that year. If you want to know the story, e-mail me and ask. The first elementary school librarian to e-mail and ask will get a free autographed copy of the book! Kids, if you're reading this, tell your librarian!

What happened was a little scary, almost disastrous, but also pretty funny… Did anything funny ever happen to you on Hanukkah? Please e-mail and tell me about it. The first child to write me a funny story about Hanukkah-and I get to say if it's funny or not-will get a free autographed copy of the book, too! Librarians, teachers, parents, if you're reading this, tell a kid!

I'd like to know from everybody how you celebrate Hanukkah. Please e-mail me and tell me a special tradition you and your family have.

Praise for Celebrate Hanukkah:

• Featured on: "Great Hanukkah Books for Kids," released by the Association of Jewish Libraries.
• Selected by a About.com as one of "The Top Ten Hanukkah Books for Children."
• Featured in my interview forThe Book of Life.
• Named as An Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book for Younger Readers.
• Named as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book by the National Social Studies Teacher/Children's Book Council.

Here's a description of one family's Chanukah celebration, from Marianne Shain:
"We have a collection of 15 menorahs, not counting the electric one for the window. Unlike many other people with collections, we light every single one of them. I set them up on a large table which I cover wth a plastic Chanukah tablecloth. On the early nights, we get a lovely glow from the one or two candles in each chanukiah. But as the holiday progresses and the number of candles increases, they begin to create their own weather system of hot air currents. It's quite a sight, despite the fact that some of the candles begin to lose their "dripless" quality. As you can imagine, this sight is a child's delight.

Here's what Kristen McLean, Executive Director of the Association of Booksellers of Children, had to say about Celebrate Hanukkah on her pixie stix kids pix blog:
Strengths: Excellent information, beautiful photography, great resource section

There are many books about Hanukkah on the market, but you will not find another one that does such a beautiful job of conveying the incredible diversity and richness of this celebration by people all over the world. Full of spectacular full-bleed photography and an elegant typographic design, this book is an excellent introduction for all children to the celebration of Hanukkah.

Deborah Helligman's accessible text does a great job of highlighting the key ideas of the celebration, from the rituals, to the food, the games, and the stories. The beautiful photography draws readers in, and conveys a wonderful sense of energy and excitement. At the back of the book, there are great resources, including facts about the holiday, a recipe for making latkes, information about lighting the menorah and playing dreidel, as well as maps, websites, a glossary, and notes on the meaning and message of Hanukkah by Rabbi Shira Stern, who consulted on the book.

As good as contents of the book are, (and they are very good), what makes the book exceptional is the amazing photography and thoughtful design. Showing people and celebrations in Uganda, Peru, India, Ghana, Israel, America, Poland, and Italy, this book goes beyond the holiday to show the incredible diversity of Judaism around the world. At a time when our world is in need of a little understanding about cultures and practices different than our own, this book delivers the goods. Amen.