Hanukkah starts Sunday, Nov. 28 and ends on Dec. 6! How did this holiday come to be? When did it start? How is it celebrated? Learn about this important Jewish celebration by exploring this Hanukkah book list.
Happy Hanukkah, Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Celebrate Hanukkah with Mr. Fish and his friends--it's eight nights of fun! From a delicious meal to lighting the menorah, Hanukkah is a time of joy. Infant to 3 years.
Hanukkah by Lori Dittmer
A kindergarten-level introduction to Hanukkah, covering the holiday's history, popular traditions, and such defining symbols as the menorah and the dreidel.
Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf by Greg Wolfe
In this delightfully inventive holiday tale, an elf named Shmelf takes a journey from the North Pole... and discovers all the joys of Hanukkah. Shmelf is one of Santa's most important elves. He's part of the List Checking department, and he makes sure all the good boys and girls get their presents! But when Shmelf finds out that some children are missing from Santa's list, he goes to investigate. What Shmelf uncovers is Hanukkah, a wondrous and joyful holiday that Jewish families celebrate each year. Ages 3-6.
Hanukkah: A Counting Book in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish by Emily Sper
The symbols of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, are visually represented to stunning effect as young children learn to count from one to eight in three different languages -- English, Hebrew, and Yiddish. Ages 3-5.
Clifford Celebrates Hanukkah by Norman Bridwell
Clifford and Emily Elizabeth are celebrating their first Hanukkah. They love hearing the story of Hanukkah, eating latkes (fried potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried jelly donuts), and playing dreidel. After dinner, Clifford and Emily Elizabeth take a trip into town to see the giant menorah. But when they get there, they discover that one light is broken. Ages 3-5.
Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale by Gloria Koster
Heading through the forest to her Bubbe Basha's house to make latkes (potato pancakes) on the first night of Hanukkah, Little Red Ruthie encounters a hungry wolf. Ages 4-8.
Potatoes at Turtle Rock by Susan Schnur and Anna Schnur-Fishman
Annie leads her family on a nighttime journey around their farm to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. At each stop along the way--the Old Log, Squeezy Cave, and Billy Goat's Bridge--Annie uses riddles (and potatoes) to mark old traditions and start new ones. Ages 5-9.
Jewish Holiday Baking: Inspired Recipes for Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover, and more by Uri Scheft with Raquel Peizel
Bake your way through the Jewish holidays with 25 delicious, foolproof recipes including poppy seed hamantaschen for Purim, coconut macaroons for Passover, apple babka for Rosh Hashanah, jam-filled sufganiyot for Hanukkah, and so much more.
Your Guide to the Jewish Holidays: From Shofar to Seder by Matt Axelrod
Intended for the reader who has no prior knowledge about the Jewish holidays as well as the reader who knows the basics about the holidays but wants to understand the holidays on a deeper level, Axelrod's book takes a humorous, light-hearted look at the 11 most important Jewish holidays. Instead of simply explaining that Jews are obligated to observe in a certain way because of a biblical text, Axelrod shows where each holiday, along with its rituals, came from in a historical context.
A History of Judaism by Martin Goodman
A History of Judaism provides the first truly comprehensive look in one volume at how this great religion came to be, how it has evolved from one age to the next, and how its various strains, sects, and traditions have related to each other.
A Field Guide to the Jewish People by Dave Barry, Adam Mansbach, and Alan Zweibel
In A Field Guide to the Jewish People the authors dissect every holiday, rite of passage, and tradition, unravel a long and complicated history, and tackle the tough questions that have plagued Jews and non-Jews alike for centuries.
