Illus­trat­ed in soft, lush tones that evoke the night­time sky, and writ­ten in gen­tly flow­ing free verse, this lyri­cal book prompts us to won­der where a menorah’s light goes when it leaves our warm and cozy home and trav­els else­where. The light, we learn, is a mir­a­cle unto itself: it touch­es every­one as it wends its way through the world. It reach­es ani­mals and peo­ple of all kinds; it climbs moun­tains, swoops down moon­lit paths, jour­neys across deserts, and zooms all the way into out­er space, touch­ing beings we may nev­er know and illu­mi­nat­ing their own world. Peo­ple of all cul­tures and reli­gions are bathed in the light’s aura, even as they cel­e­brate their own faiths and kin­dle their own glow­ing lights.

This is a sto­ry that brings all togeth­er togeth­er in a warm and wel­com­ing man­ner, remind­ing us of the ties we share. An author’s note describes the his­to­ry of Hanukkah and intro­duces read­ers to oth­er hol­i­days that use light as part of their fes­tive cel­e­bra­tions, includ­ing Diwali, Christ­mas, Kwan­zaa, St. Lucia Day, and Loy Krathong.

The Light from My Meno­rah is a beau­ti­ful pic­ture book suf­fused with joy.