Tis the season for STORYBOOKS!: Eight Sweet Nights, A Festival of Lights by Charlotte Offsay, Illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt - REVIEW!

Tis the season for STORYBOOKS!

You know, those short tales filled with WONDER, illustrations, memories in the making, and morals to take away.  They are an integral part of childhood, and a great way to step back to those days as an adult reader.  They're beautiful to add to your own collection, and a great gifting idea for little readers in the making.  

Today's featured title comes to us via Random House Children's Books and focuses on a story that's just as beautiful as the season.  It takes us through a modern day celebration that has its roots deeply in the past, and adds in a bit of edutainment to broaden our knowledge horizons.  So whether you already take part in this seasonal affair, or are simply curious to know more, take a closer look between the pages of today's ebook of choice...

Eight Sweet Nights, A Festival of Lights

by

Charlotte Offsay

Illustrated by

Menahem Halberstadt

9780593808726

Doubleday Books for Young Readers

About the book...

A warm and yummy Hanukkah-themed picture book about the joys of coming together to celebrate with family and food.

It’s time to start counting sleeps—Hanukkah is coming! Shimmering, shining, sparkling. Eight sweet nights, a festival of lights.

Set in a cozy house full of latkes, applesauce, sufganiyot, and other Hanukkah holiday treats, this warm and emotional story highlights the importance and joy of passing along traditions from one generation to the next, and making new traditions too.

🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎

Hanukkah.

Feast of the Maccabees.

Festival of Lights.

All names for the same celebration that takes place over the course of eight nights some time between November and the beginning of January (this year happens to fall on December 25th through January 2nd). In Hebrew, Hanukkah means “dedication,” and the holiday marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC, after a small group of Jewish fighters liberated it from occupying foreign forces.  What most on the outside see is the lighting of the candles in the menorah, eight days of gifts, and foods being cooked in celebration of the season.  On the inside of the celebration, there are connections to the past to remember, traditions to be carried out, and new memories to be added to carry it all forward to the next generation.  

The story between these pages let's us share in the festivities of the first night. It shares the traditional names, foods, and histories that go along with eight nights of celebration.  It shares a bit of the why behind the practices, as does the add in at story's end, while respecting the who both between the pages and the individual reading the pages so that no one feels left out, nor disrespected.  There's a joy, and a peacefulness to the tale that stays with you through the turn of the final page, while the beauty of the togetherness illustrated warms your heart.

A great story to add to your holiday reading this season and a great gift idea for those you hold dear!

🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎  ✡  🕎

Special thanks to Alessandra at Random House Children's Books for the ecopy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the illustrator, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now wherever books are sold.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!