Jodie's Hanukkah Dig

by Anna Levine, Ksenia Topaz (Illustrator)

Jodie dreams of one day becoming a famous archaeologist and when her father takes her to visit a dig in Modiin, Israel, home of the Maccabees, she is uniquely able to help.

Genres: Childrens, Jewish

30 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

FREEFALL (Greenwillow/HarperCollins) won the Sydney Taylor Honor’s Award the same year that JODIE’S HANUKKAH DIG won a Sydney Taylor Notable Award. Jodie has gone on to discover many new archaeological sites in Israel. Spring 2015 is the third in the series where Jodie goes to a park near Jerusalem, loses her dog Digger, discovers a wine press from the First Temple period and succeeds in rescuing her dog. RUNNING ON EGGS (Front Street/Cricket was on the NY Public Library’s best book list in the year 2000), I have also published short stories and poems in magazines and won the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for both short stories and poetry. Most recently two poems were published in YARN (The Young Adult Review Network). I'm presently working on an adult novel, SURROGATE SISTERS, which is set in Montreal, Quebec. Will keep you posted!

Reviews

[Mariah Roze · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story!

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet book about a daughter of an archaeologist living in Israel who aspires to be one herself some day! Maybe she'll be president of the Archeology Club!!!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

the version i read is "Jodie's First Dig"

terrific read and intro to archaeology. Jodie is the little sister and is not big enough, not smart enough according to her brothers. her father however sees her beauty (as fathers should) and takes her to a dig outside of Jerusalem to meet a famous archaeologist and find out what it is like on a site.
i like the book's realism - Jodie finds it hard, dirty and tiring work.
she learns you don't have to go far away to explore (they live in Jerusalem).
and she finds something, not a crown or a sword just something small but large enough that the spark to keep doing that will stay with her.
how she makes the find, though it could happen, especially if Israel doesn't have a version of OSHA, is unrealistic but possible. and every book needs some suspense.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This is a cute little book that makes for a fun read whether you're looking for a Hanukkah story or an archaeology story. The illustrations are lovely and warm. Worth the read!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story that is lightly cultural, with the Hanukkah aspects. It's also about a little girl who wants to be a archeologist which isn't the norm. And she has those good qualities that could teach young kids that they can over come obstacles others put for them.