Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

Living in sunny California it is easy to forget what real winter is about. In this situation Diana Cohen Conway’s Northern Lights: A Hanukkah Story can come to the rescue. In it a Jewish girl is stranded for Hanuakkah in Alaska by the weather and is hosted by an Inuit family. There real cultural exchange happens as she tells them the story of Hanukkah and they share with her bits of their culture, both material and literary. Meanwhile on every page we encounter stunning watercolor paintings by Shelly O. Haas, mostly in light blues and yellows, showing not just the two young girls developing friendship, but attempting to capture the atmosphere of northern lights. It is a simple story, for simple times with simple lesson about the value of multicultural sharing and discovering our similarities.

The Jewish Early Childhood Educators’ Exchange’s discussion and activity suggestion related to this book is below:

This story is a terrific provocation to a discussion and activities about winter nights, light and shadows. Sara tells her friend the story of Chanukah by candlelight using her hands’ shadows as the storytelling tools. Set up an overhead projector in your classroom and encourage the children to experiment with shadows. Use various types of “screens-” the wall, a sheet, butcher paper, etc…. You may also give children different sizes and strengths of flashlights. After children have made discoveries with the flashlights, place different colors of cellophane with the flashlights. See if children create their own Northern lights! See where the children’s excitement leads!