Eight Days of Hanukkah

by Harriet Ziefert, Melinda Levine (Illustrations)

A simple, lively text and bright cut-paper collages bring the holiday of Hanukkah to life as a candle is lit on every page, dreidels are spun, and stories are told, in an educational, fun-to-read introduction to the Jewish holiday.

Genres: Picture Books

8 pages, Board Book

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Jen]

This book doesn't really tell much about Hanukkah, but introduces some of the activities that happen during Hannukkah. Pages cut at different lengths makes it more fun for the reader. Bright Illustrations, simple sentences for the beginning reader. There could be some interaction with the repeated lines on every page "Do you know the reason why? It's Hanukkah tonite"

[Jadai Mcgee]

In the Eight days of Hanukkah,a family shows their holiday tradition as they light a candle for each day of the Hanukkah holiday. Students can read about and learn different traditions of other cultures and compare and contrast them to their own.

[Miss Sarah]

This didn't really grab me. I liked the small pages that reminded me of lift the flaps and the repetition but didn't love the illustrations. Each page is one day of Hanukkah and a candle is lit on each page and a Hanukkah fact is mentioned as this family celebrates the holiday.

[Ashley Correll]

This is the story about a Jewish culture based on the celebration and traditions of Hanukkah from lighted candles. It shows how a Jewish family celebrates Hanukkah.