Reviews for Stories of the world's holidays

The average rating for Stories of the world's holidays based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-11-16 00:00:00 Chris Farrell A young boy narrates this engaging story of one family's celebration of Hanukkah, from the initial night of the festival, when they light the first candle in his great-grandmother's menorah - brought all the way from Russia - and sing holiday songs together; to the eighth night, when they gather round and consider the miracle of their safe and comfortable life together. In between come visits to Grandma and Grandpa's house, a night of gathering and repairing used toys and clothing to be donated to a local shelter, a Hanukkah party at the local temple, a big dinner with extended family and friends, a trip to the mall to buy presents, and a visit with close family friends who celebrate Christmas. This family's eight nights of Hanukkah are jam-packed with family, friends and fun! Both entertaining and informative - I liked the way that the historical background of Hanukkah, the story of Judah Macabee and his rebellion, and of the miracle in the temple, was worked into the more lighthearted details of contemporary celebration - Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah is a lovely tribute to to the Festival of Lights, one that could also serve as an introduction to the holiday for non-Jewish children. I liked the messages of diversity and tolerance worked into the story - the idea, not just of co-existing with people of other faiths, but of taking joy in one another's traditions - and also thought the colorful artwork was appealing. All in all, an excellent family-oriented Hanukkah picture-book!

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-24 00:00:00 Bryan Lopes Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah is a realistic fiction book. The book is about a Jewish Family embracing their rituals for Hanukkah. This book is great at letting students learn about the Hanukkah holiday. The pictures are vivid and also show a wide range of different cultures. The lifestyle of the little boy is not over the top but just right to tell a story of his eight nights of Hanukkah. The story can allow the students to connect to a similar holiday that the other student celebrate instead of Hanukkah. The book is not suitable for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students because the text is too much, and has a lot of words to digest. The book also has a "How to Say the Hebrew words in the Story", at the back of the book. This is a great idea to allow students to be active in learning about the Hebrew holiday. The story allow students to compare their traditional holiday to Hanukkah. The storyline is great to introduce the holiday and also go into detail about what the boy does with his family for the eight days of Hanukkah.