Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s currently a freelance writer and editor, and in addition to Book Riot, her pieces have appeared in School Library Journal, BuzzFeed News, The Lily, Parents, StarTrek.com, and more. She particularly loves children’s books, fantasy, science fiction, horror, graphic novels, and any books with disabled characters. You can read more about her bookish and parenting shenanigans in Book Riot’s twice-weekly The Kids Are All Right newsletter. You can also follow her kidlit bookstagram account @BabyLibrarians, or on Twitter @AReaderlyMom.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, follows the Hebrew calendar and starts on the 25th night of Kislev. This year, the first night of Hanukkah falls on the same day as Christmas and runs through January 2. This eight-night festival celebrates the Jewish Maccabees rebellion defeating Greek occupiers. To celebrate, the Maccabees lit a candle they thought would only last one night, but a miracle occurred and the candle stayed lit for eight nights. These five wonderful Jewish children’s books take place during Hanukkah.
Gingerbread Dreidels by Jane Breskin Zalben & Thai Phuong
This fun picture book depicts a family who celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. Since the dates coincide this year, siblings Sophie and Max worry they won’t receive the same number of presents, and that the day won’t be as special. But when both sets of grandparents arrive, their worries are assuaged. The family sings Hanukkah and Christmas songs, lights the menorah and the Christmas tree, plays dreidel while eating gingerbread dreidel cookies, and has a feast that includes latkes and turkey and dressing. It’s a perfect day all around, and the kids receive just the right amount of presents. Back matter includes a history of the dreidel, a recipe for gingerbread dreidels, and an author’s note about the Hebrew calendar and Jewish holidays. Some family members are racially diverse. It’s a fun and magical read.
Hanukkah by Lesléa Newman & Rotem Teplow
This picture book is part of the Celebrations & Festivals series, which are excellent holiday primers with extensive back matter that includes crafts, trivia, games, recipes, and additional historical facts. The primary story of this one follows the child Lior as he celebrates Hanukkah with his parents and family. To prepare, he helps clean the house and paints portraits for gifts to his grandparents. Then the trio welcomes their extended family and play dreidel, share a feast, say Hanukkah blessings, exchange presents, and much more. Family members are racially and ability diverse.
Eight Sweet Nights, A Festival of Lights by Charlotte Offsay & Menahem Halberstadt
This lyrical picture book shows a family celebrating Hanukkah with grandparents. Instead of using the text to explain Hanukkah, Offsay embraces her poetic writing style for the primary story and leaves the explaining to fact bubbles that appear on each page spread. Back matter answers six basic questions about Hanukkah, and the illustrations are vivid and depict racially diverse family members. It’s a great read-aloud.
The Day I Became a Potato Pancake by Arie Kaplan & Beilin Xu
This is a really funny Hanukkah-themed sci-fi graphic novel for middle grade or early chapter book readers. Naomi’s mother is a scientist and works on new experiments in the garage. One day Naomi and her best friend Sam decide to explore the garage and discover the Transfogram. Ben presses the big button on it, and it transforms him into what he was thinking about—a latke! Later, her dad turns into a menorah! Can they figure out the antidote? It’s a silly read that kids will love.
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Rachel Friedman and Eight Not-Perfect Nights of Hanukkah by Sarah Kapit & Genevieve Kote
This is the second book in the delightful Rachel Friedman early chapter book series, but they can be read in any order! When a classmate says Christmas is better than Hanukkah, Rachel decides to prove him wrong by having the best Hanukkah ever. But everything seems to go wrong. Her father forgets to buy potatoes for the latkes, her brother Aaron decides he’s too old for Hanukkah and refuses to make a LEGO menorah, and her best friend gets sick. Nothing is going as planned. This is a wonderful depiction of what it feels like to be a Jewish kid surrounded by Christmas.
Here are some more Hanukkah children’s book recommendations.
English (US) · 