A busy, hap­py, mod­ern fam­i­ly cel­e­brates Hanukkah, explain­ing its his­to­ry and rit­u­als with can­dles, drei­dels, gelt and latkes as they go along. The book is direct­ed toward non- Jew­ish chil­dren learn­ing about the prac­tices of oth­ers; it will also serve young Jew­ish chil­dren review­ing this pop­u­lar hol­i­day. His­tor­i­cal and mod­ern char­ac­ters are shown in appeal­ing illus­tra­tions with bright col­ors in active scenes. Ancient war and con­tem­po­rary par­ties are equal­ly upbeat. A ​“side-bar” box on each page offers an his­tor­i­cal or the­o­log­i­cal note to enrich the basic descrip­tions. Despite a bare bones fac­tu­al approach — the ner tamid, here called a spe­cial oil lamp, is giv­en no pur­pose oth­er than to spark the mir­a­cle — details are nice­ly includ­ed; in the ancient tem­ple scene the pre-mir­a­cle meno­rah is the week­day can­dle hold­er with sev­en arms and by par­ty ti me the fam­i­ly uses the nine armed hanukki­ah, although this word is not mentioned.There are some odd­i­ties in glos­sary def­i­n­i­tions and activ­i­ties: for exam­ple, there is much talk about the drei­del and some rules, but read­ers are sent to a web­site to find full play­ing instruc­tions, not very help­ful if you are ready to play. These miss­es aside, this refresh­ing, short, clear expla­na­tion is charm­ing as a review for Jew­ish chil­dren and as an intro­duc­tion to oth­ers. Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 4 – 6.