Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

The wackiest Hanukkah story I read is Brian P. Cleary’s Eight Wild Nights: A Family Hanukkah Tale. The rhymes it is written in, the characters depicted both in words and pictures and the story are all off-beat in a good way. On every page it introduces one or more new family members (in one case 17) as they enter the host family’s little world. They are all loud and all sorts of wild, but children appropriate, events are happening. Don’t despair though, in the midst of the great cavalcade the usual Hanukkah staples are eaten, games are played, ceremonies observed. By the end you are also treated to a genuine miracle that anyone can appreciate.

Without David Udovic’s witty illustrations the book would be less than half the fun. They cover the whole pages and the 4-6 lines of text on each page are inserted into the pictures. This and the chaotic nature of the story make the book appealing beyond the 4-8 year olds it is created for