A Picture Book of Hanukkah

by David A. Adler, Linda Heller (illustrator)

Hanukkah is sometimes called the festival of lights. It celebrates miracles that happened long ago. What were those miracles? Find out in this book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Jewish, Holiday, Childrens, Religion, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Tuly Huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of Hanukkah.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expertly illustrated in warm earth tones by Linda Heller, the book simply explains the Maccabean revolt against the army of Antiochus. This is a good book to share with children 4-7 years old.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always surprised I like this book. The pictures are pretty ugly, done in shade of 70's shag carpet. And the story isn't particularly original, it's pretty much a recounting of the events that led to the creation of Hanukkah. But I've always liked it. I guess there is just something amazing about an underdog standing up for a conviction and the miracle of the oil lasting for 8 days. It might be blasphemous to say this, but I think it appeals to me because it has a fairy-tale quality to it. I learned the word "gelt" from this book.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently this is one of the books that my mom used to read to my class in elementary school to explain about Hanukkah. I think there are better books for young children, this is a bit wordy and dark.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't known so much about Hanukkah. I'm really glad I read this book and shared it with my kids.

[Katie Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. This is a good book to read to teach children about the story of Hanukkah especially during the month of December when a lot of religious holidays are celebrated.