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The Dreidel that Wouldn't Spin

A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah
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Age range 5 to 12 "This dreidel does not work!" the father had cried. "What do you mean?" the shopkeeper asked. "How can a dreidel not work?" It was certainly the most beautiful spinning top the shopkeeper had ever seen, with magical letters on its sides. But it just would not spin for two children who insisted on owning it! Later, the shopkeeper decided to try it one last time: would it spin for another child, one who carried the true spirit of Hanukkah in his heart?
Martha Seif Simpson is an author and children's librarian. She has served as the Head of Children's Services at the Stratford Library Association in Stratford, CT for the last twenty years. She is the author of five professional books for teachers and librarians. Her first children's book What NOT to Give Your Mom on Mother's Day was released in 2013. She lives in Hamden, CT. D. Yael Bernhard is an award-winning illustrator and author of many fiction and non-fiction books for children, including natural science titles and multicultural folktales. She is also a children's teacher of Hebrew, Judaics, and illustration. Ms. Bernhard is also a fine artist known for her religious and family-themed pieces. She lives in Shandaken, NY.
Simpson uses familiar European folk-tale motifs, which Bernhard matches with paintings of an Old World setting; both illustrate how humility outshines greed and arrogance. Backmatter explains the real miracle of Hanukkah and the holiday's significance as well as rules for playing dreidel. A sweet original tale with a timeless, though not holiday-specific message. Kirkus K-Gr 2- In this gentle parable, a peddler gives a splendorous Hanukkah dreidel to the greedy owner of a toy shop with the admonishment that '...the miracle of Hanukkah cannot be bought'... Folkloric watercolor illustrations in a pale palette are appropriately soft in tone while images of the toys offering their own expressive impressions of the goings-on inject a bit of humor. A lovely choice for those wishing to circumvent the more commercial aspects of the holiday. School Library Journal
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