Chag Sameach! Lighthearted Hanukkah Reads for School-Age Kids

Happy holiday--or in Hebrew, chag sameach! Hanukkah is not far away, and neither is the laughter, joy and warmth that comes with it. Get ready to celebrate with some of my favorite lighthearted Hanukkah books to start your Festival of Lights on an upbeat note!

In How I Saved Hanukkah, Marla is the only Jewish student in her class, and she can never forget it. Her classmates' Christmases are always really festive, but at Hanukkah, she looks at a plastic dreidel with a mom that doesn't know how to play. They both forget to light the menorah, too. This year, Marla decides to learn what Hanukkah really is and teach everyone else along the way. Many laugh-out-loud events later, the whole town is part of the party!

Do you already celebrate Hanukkah but want a refresher? Do you not know much about Hanukkah and want to learn more? Either way, you'll enjoy Light the Menorah! It's a lovely guidebook on all the Hanukkah hallmarks, from candles to dreidels to delicious food.

Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! is a wonderfully written and very funny rewriting of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Instead of Christmas, Hanukkah is the subject grumpy and greedy Scroogemacher needs a lesson about. The Three Rabbis of Past, Present and Future come to give that to him, and everybody in the tale learns something!

Do you want to hear some fun tales about all kinds of Jewish holidays? Legend has it that when the angels were sprinkling silliness through the world, the bowl of silliness toppled. All of it spilled into one little town in Poland called Chelm. As silly as things always seem to get for the people of Chelm, nothing can stop them from celebrating. Read - and laugh - all about it in Chelm for the Holidays!

How will you honor Hanukkah this year?