Hanukkah is the hol­i­day of light. Its glow illu­mi­nates the dark­ness of Jew­ish his­to­ry and con­tin­ues to bright­en the com­pli­cat­ed world of today.

Uri and his sis­ter, Shir, wait impa­tient­ly for their father to come home for can­dle light­ing on the first night of Hanukkah. The dark­ness gath­ers; the gloom is daunt­ing. The ene­my seems to be approach­ing with ele­phants, swords, and spears. Nev­er­the­less, cre­ative, imag­i­na­tive Uri and Shir tap into their brave side and bat­tle the ene­my, dark­ness, as coura­geous­ly as any Mac­cabee until their father walks through the door. Light, joy, song, fun, and delight fol­low as the chil­dren learn that Hanukkah mir­a­cles are ongo­ing and ever-present.

The rhymes are live­ly and rhyth­mic even in trans­la­tion — a rare and notable accom­plish­ment. The col­or illus­tra­tions evoke Uri’s impa­tience, brav­ery, and, most impor­tant­ly, his hol­i­day joy. Uri and Shir’s names sub­tly and per­fect­ly reflect the themes of light and song, both inte­gral parts of the holiday.