“Runaway Dreidel!” by Leslea Newman

I spent a lot of time looking through the  Chanukah section at the library yesterday.  I found many great books for older children that gave lovely in-depth descriptions of the meaning behind the holiday and its traditions.  Finding a story for a younger child was a bit challenging, however I did come across one that I like a lot called “Runaway Dreidel!” by Leslea Newman.

Rowen liked the fast pace of this story of a little boy chasing after his favorite dreidel.  It does not explore the meaning behind Chanukah but rather introduces the young reader to vocabulary related to the holiday and other aspects of Jewish culture, such as dreidel, latkes, menorah, challah, chocolate gelt, and the horah.

Here the author describes her inspiration for the story:

"One day I read the wonderful poem, "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore and decided it would be fun to write a poem with the same rhythm and rhyme scheme for kids who celebrate Chanukah. So I did!”

 The illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker, full of the bustling movement of the holidays, and the expressive faces she’s given to her characters, are a big part of what makes this such an enjoyable read.

Funny!

I wanted to take a moment to share some of the books that make Rowen laugh belly-laughs.

1. The Piggy and Gerald series by Mo Williams, particularly “Elephants Can Not Dance” and "Listen to my Trumpet”.  These books contain lots of funny scenarios and hilarious exclamations and they have really played a key role in developing Rowen’s sense of humor.  (By the way, the Knuffle Bunny books are great too).

2. “The Hiccupotamus” by Aaron Zenz, is fantastic for kids who love language and have started to play with words.  Rowen giggles uncontrollably at lines like “One day he saw an elephant with cakes of green and yellowphant. He tried to tell her ‘hellophant’..but it didn’t go so wellephant.”

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!  We will be reading Hiccupotamus when Rowen wakes up from his nap, it’s on the top of our stack of books from the library.

“Shante Keys and the New Year’s Peas” by Gail Piernas-Davenport

I love that "Shante Keys and the New Year’s Peas” by Gail Piernas-Davenport focuses in on African American New Year traditions that are often overlooked.  Even better, as Shante Keys searches for black eyed peas she takes a tour of other cultural New Year traditions.  The friends she meets along the way are invited back to her home for a big feast.  The book even includes the following recipe in the back:

Grandma Louise’s Hoppin’ John

3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 12-ounce package fresh black eyed peas, rinsed
2 2/3 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound cooked ham, cubed
1 bay leaf
cooked rice

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and saute the onions, celery and garlic until tender, about three minutes.  Add fresh peas, chicken broth, ham and bay leaf.  Boil for three minutes, then lower heat.  Cover the pot and summer until the peas are tender, about forty-five minutes.  Check the pot occasionally and add water if needed.  Remove the bay leaf and serve over cooked rice.  Season to suit your taste!

Rowen liked Shante Keys and the book made him hungry!  To see the book trailer, click here.

"Hoops with Swoopes", Susan Kuklin with Sheryl Swoopes

I think this is a great book for many ages.  It works particularly well for toddlers, as the pictures are full of action and the pages aren’t too wordy.  It is also a great book for a child learning the technique and skills of basketball.  Each page features a different skill demonstrated by the incredibly muscular and agile superstar, Sheryl Swoopes.  Any sports books starring female athletes are high on my list to read with Rowen.  As Rowen would say “She shoots she SCORES!” For more info, click here.

“Mama God, Papa God” by Richardo Keens-Douglas

I often think about how when Rowen is older I would like to take him to many different places of worship to expose him to as many different types of religion and communities as possible.  Not even so much to choose which religion, if any, will be his own, but to teach acceptance…..and curiosity!

My mom found this book and it is actually one of Rowen’s favorites.  “Mama God, Papa God” has bright and vibrant illustrations by Stefan Czernecki that have been inspired by Hatian folk art.  The story features a Mama God and Papa God who make as many different kinds of people as they can so that life doesn’t get boring and people can continue to learn from each other.

“Bringing in the New Year”, by Grace Lin

Grace Lin is a favorite author of ours. This RISD grad writes and illustrates her own books, and if you catch her at a RISD art sale you might just snag a signed copy.

“Bringing in the New Year” is one of the best she has written.  This celebration of Chinese New Year tells of traditions that two year old Rowen can understand, such as “sweeping the old out of the house” and making the “get rich dumplings”.  He loves the illustrations of the Dragons and the Lion Dancers.

I think this year we will have a Chinese New Year party incorporating some of these elements to celebrate Rowen’s Chinese heritage!

For more information about Grace Lin, visit her website 

"Earthmovers on the Move”, by Lee Sullivan Hill

Let me tell you, there are a million books about trucks, and as a Mom who has read about 50 of them in the past year, this one is special.  Here’s why: when you open to the first page, there is a picture of a little girl digging in the dirt, introducing the concept of “digger trucks”.  Turn a couple more pages, and you will see that the first page including a picture of an operator showcases a woman driver. “Earthmovers on the Move” by Lee Sullivan Hill is part of a series of “On the Move” Lightening Bolt books.  Let’s support them, shall we?  

"What Does it Mean to be Global?”, by Rana DiOrio

I was excited to discover this book because this is exactly what I want my son to try to understand.  In truth, at two years old, the words of this book go over his head. The pictures reach him though. Take a moment to check this out , and then pick up the book the next time you are at the library.  Rana DiOrio and her “Little Pickle Press”  set out to help “parents and educators cultivate conscious, responsible little people by stimulating explorations of the meaningful topics of their generation through a variety of media, technologies and techniques”.  The books are made of recycled paper and soy ink too.

We need more books like this one.

Under The Ramadan Moon, Sylvia Whitman

In the children’s section of the Warwick library I flip through hundreds of books while Rowen does puzzles in the giant wooden boat.  I opened up the pages to “Under the Ramadan Moon” by Sylvia Whitman and knew it would be a keeper. It provides a very simple introduction to the concept of this Muslim holiday, along with beautiful illustrations.

Rowen loved the focus of the moon in the book.  He also seemed to understand the concept of spending time with family during special holidays, and trying to be “good” by speaking kind words, giving to the poor, and so on.

I like the lyrical repetition of this story, and found it to be particularly relevant since many of my Muslim international students had just celebrated Eid (the big holiday marking the end of Ramadan).

Click here for more information on Sylvia Whitman and this book.