Sadie's Almost Marvelous Menorah

October 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-In this third title featuring blond, bespectacled Sadie, it is the Monday before Hanukkah and her teacher, Morah Rachel, has given the children clay to make their own menorahs. The rest of the week, Sadie works on shaping and painting her menorah and learning to recite the Hanukkah blessings over the candles. Alas, when Friday comes she is so excited to show her mother her pink menorah with blue squiggles that she trips and drops it, causing it to shatter except for the part meant to hold the shammash, the helper candle used to light all the others. Her wise mother decides that they will call it "Sadie's Super Shammash," with the special job of lighting the shammash on all of the other family menorahs. This simple, elegant solution to Sadie's distress is characteristic of the warm, loving tone set throughout the book, enhanced by appealing spreads depicting a sunny classroom full of eager children, many wearing yarmulkes (as is Morah Rachel). Textured backdrops and surfaces combined with a light earthy palette give the whole an airy, affable feel, perfect for this holiday that celebrates a positive outcome over adversity.-Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
The kids in Sadie's class are excited to make their own menorahs. While they mold and shape and paint, their teacher, Morah Rachel, tells them about the holiday. On Friday Sadie is thrilled to take home her special pink and blue creation, but she trips, shattering the menorah into a million, zillion pieces. Luckily the shammash remains intacta Hanukkah miracle!and a new tradition begins. The family from Sadie's Sukkah Breakfast and Sadie and the Big Mountain again demonstrates how kindness and creativity can overcome small (but they seem huge) setbacks. Illustrations filled with Hanukkah cheer capture both the bustling and the quiet times of Sadie's classroom; light-infused pictures of the family at home radiate warmth. elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2014
Sadie has made her own menorah at school. She's thrilled to take home her pink and blue creation, but she trips, shattering the menorah into "a million, zillion pieces." Luckily the [cf2]shammash[cf1] remains intact--a Hanukkah miracle!--and a new tradition begins. Illustrations capture both the bustling and the quiet times of Sadie's classroom; light-infused pictures of the family at home radiate warmth.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)