Cousins Nora and Noah live on opposite sides of the world, one in New Zealand and the other in New York. One celebrates Hanukkah in the summer; the other observes the holiday during the icy winter. The cousins maintain a warm relationship online and by telephone, and they have an ongoing friendly rivalry about who has the better life. However, despite the differences in their experiences, they both enjoy dreidels, potato latkes, menorahs, candles, and sweet, sticky sufganiyot during Hanukkah. Nora and Noah even send each other similar Hanukkah gifts, both of which have upside-down and backward themes. These loving cousins prove that you can be joyfully Jewish anywhere in the world. Cheerful color illustrations evoking bright Hanukkah candles only add to the book’s exuberance and fun.
Michal Hoschander Malen is the editor of Jewish Book Council’s young adult and children’s book reviews. A former librarian, she has lectured on topics relating to literacy, run book clubs, and loves to read aloud to her grandchildren.
