Notes from the Levy Library

Hanukkah reading – column updated 12/20/24

Here are a few of my personal favorites from the ones I’ve been considering for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. In Hanukkah Pajamakkahs, Ruthie enjoys her special Hanukkah pajamas so much that she wears them all eight nights, trying to keep them clean for the family Hanukkah pajamakkah party on the last night. Read the book to see how she does…. Babies and toddlers (and the rest of the family) can dance to the rhyming instructions in Hanukkah Hippity-Hop, a board book. Then, two celebrations of imagination and agency: in A Dragon for Hanukkah, Hannah imbues her presents with magic, while in Uri and the Prince of Darkness, Uri and his sister, Shir, have to fight off the enemy army they see in the storm that is making their father late for the first night of Hanukkah.

I also recommend these two books featuring racial diversity: Gingerbread Dreidels, with its Hanukkah and Christmas traditions for a blended family; and Eight Sweet Nights, a story plus information about Hanukkah. There is the silly Don’t Invite a Bear Inside for Hanukkah, in which chaos ensues; and, finally, the more serious Beam of Light, about the first White House menorah.

The Second Sunday Book Club meets January 12

Come to our no-stress monthly book club for STTI adults and friends – we meet in Zoom and talk about whatever we are reading, Jewish or not, for an hour or two, depending on how many people attend.

Here are a few of the books we discussed at the December 15 meeting – an Italian novella, a double biography, a middle grade Hanukkah-and-Christmas novel about twins separated at birth, and a memoir with recipes:

We will next meet on Sunday, January 12 at 1:00 pm.

Email me at library@sephardictemple.org to rsvp and I will send you the Zoom link. If you just want to be on the mailing list in order to receive the booklist after each meeting, that’s fine too. You will see lots of great recommendations!

Happy reading, Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Your Librarian, Annette

Do visit our online catalog http://stti.hl.scoolaid.net/bin/home. You can also get there via the Temple web site https://sephardictemple.org/ — click on the “Learning” tab and choose “Temple Library.” Get to know your Levy Library – there’s lots to discover!

Librarian: Annette Goldsmith. Email: library@sephardictemple.org