8 Nights of Books

I recently re-discovered the Mer Mag blog and I love it.  When there is a new post, I get a little giddy, like I have a little gift full of inspiration and fun waiting for me.  So, yes, I recommend it.

Merrilee of Mer Mag created a book advent calendar for her boys this year, and with my love of children's picture books, I decided to do the same for my girls for Hanukkah.
Some of the beautiful photos from Mer Mag:

 i love the way she wrapped the books.
each one was slightly different but all related to one another.

see the books lined up on the hearth?
 how did the boys not rip them all open at once?

I scoured Richmond to find good Hanukkah books (which was no easy feat, let me tell you!), and here are the 8 I chose:

 Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel
(A Hanukkah classic, if there is such a thing, that my girls were scared of - P said,"Mommy, you shouldn't have bought this book for us."  Whoops!  Maybe the goblins will be less scary next year?)

 Latkes, Latkes Good to Eat by Naomi Howland
(This is essentially a Jewish version of Strega Nona by Tomie DiPaola.  Instead of a magic pasta pot, there is a magic pan, and instead of pasta, there are latkes.  I was a little annoyed because I love Strega Nona and couldn't believe one author would take another author's story in such an obvious way.  I'm sure it happens all of the time, but it was rather unoriginal to me.

Pocketful of Posies: A Treasure of Nursery Rhymes by Salley Mavor
(A sweet book of rhymes that most of us know, but the art is truly wonderful.  Mavor's attention to such fine detail with the use of beads, nuts, wood, thread, felt, and many other materials is captivating.)

You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown

(I love Lucille Beatrice Bear from Children Make Terrible Pets, and here she is back with her wide-eyed enthusiasm in trying to find a new friend.  Don't worry - she succeeds!)

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

(I love when I learn something from a children's book, and this story told us about the history behind the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Tony Sarg.  Who, you may be wondering, is Tony Sarg?  Read the book!)

Liberty's Voice: The Emma Lazarus Story by Erica Silverman

(This is another true story that taught me about Emma Lazarus and the poem she came to write for the base of the Statue of Liberty.  Again, learned a lot from this book.  Oh, and just this week I read an article about an exhibition on Emma Lazarus in The New York Times.)

Five Little Gefiltes by Dave Horowitz

(A funny book that taught us all some yiddish!  Thank goodness my girls now know what schlep means!)

Chanukah Lights by Michael Rosen and Robert Sabuda

(Sabuda is an incredible pop-up artist and this book is a perfect example of his work.  My girls liked the pop-ups but couldn't have cared less about the text.  Sounds harsh, but it's true.)