By
– October 10, 2011
Light the Menorah is a pull the tab board book filled with inaccuracies about Hanukah. For example, “We light our menorah to remember the Maccabees.” “When the Jewish temple was destroyed, the Maccabees had to rebuild it.” On the sixth day the children give presents “to the boys and girls in our neighborhood.” Each night the children “say prayers over t he menorah” and cover their eyes as if lighting Shabbat candles. The full page illustrations are colorful and compliment the text, but the uninteresting, almost identical pull tabs (yellow flames for the menorah candles) add nothing to the enjoyment of the book. Not recommended.
Ilka Gordon has a Masters in Education from Boston University and an M.L.I.S. from Kent State University. She is a librarian at Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland.