Through the Woods to Bubbe's Cottage: Little Red Ruthie--A Hanukkah Tale by Gloria Koster

Little Ruthie is merry. It's cold and snowy outside, but wearing her poofy red parka with its cozy hood, she sets out through the woods to her Bubbe's house, thinking warm thoughts and carrying a basket with sour cream and applesauce for the special latkes she and her grandmother always make during Hanukkah.

All is merry and bright as Little Red Ruthie skips through the forest until, as it starts snowing heavily, she makes a wrong turn on the path.

RUTHIE FINDS HERSELF FACE TO FACE WITH A WOLF!

"LITTLE GIRL, I'M GOING TO EAT YOU UP!" SAID THE WOLF.

BUT IT WAS HANUKKAH. RUTHIE WANTED TO BE AS BRAVE AS THE MACCABEES!

Ruthie knows she must also be clever, so she opens her coat and shows the wolf how skinny she is, but promises that after she eats lots of latkes for the next eight days, she'll make a much bigger meal.

"I'LL BE AS ROUND AS A PANCAKE THEN!"

The wolf agrees to the deal, but stealthily takes a shortcut to Bubbe's cottage. On the door there is a message from Bubbe' for Ruthie, saying she is shopping for a Hanukkah treat and will be back shortly. The wolf tries to door and, finding it unlocked, goes inside to wait for both of them to return, amusing himself while he waits by trying on Bubbe's best dresses. But Ruthie arrives before Bubbe and has to be both brave and clever. She offers to make the wolf some fine latkes as hors d'oeuvres before the feast. The wolf says he's too hungry to wait for her to fry the latkes in oil.

"SKIP THE FRYING!" HE GROWLS.

But Ruthie insists on telling the story about why the oil is the most important part of Hanukkah, and the ravenous wolf eats latkes as fast as little Ruthie can fry them up. In fact, by the time Bubbe returns, the wolf is no longer hungry at all.

In fact, he's feeling quite BARFY!

Notice: No little girls or innocent grandmothers are harmed in Gloria Koster's jolly holiday parody of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale (Albert Whitman).

This lighthearted spoof of the popular Red Riding Hood trope lends itself well to the story of Hanukkah and the reason latkes are the festive food for this holiday. Jolly illustrations by Sue Eastland extend the droll text with great good humor in which even the wolf is funny. For sophisticated primary students who know their December celebrations, share this one with Eric Kimmel's and Trina Schart Hyman's Caldecott-winning Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins: 25th Anniversary Edition. And for more tasty Hanukkah stories for the season, here's a virtual platter from which you can help yourself to all you want here.

OY! WayToo Many Latkes: A Hanukkah Story in Chelm by Linda Glaser

Everyone in Chelm agrees that when it comes to latkes for Hanukkah, Faigel makes the best in her village. But this year, Faigel can't remember her special recipe! Her husband comes in with a big basket of fresh potatoes. Even he knows she needs potatoes to make latkes.

"BUT HOW MANY?" MOANED FAIGEL.

I'LL ASK THE RABBI," SAID SHMUEL.

"WHAT DOES A RABBI KNOW? BUBKES! NOTHING!" WAILED FAIGLE.

"HE IS THE WISEST MAN IN CHELM," INSISTED SHMUEL.

The rabbi of Chelm's stomach is already rumbling at the thought of crispy Hanukkah latkes when Shmuel arrives with his question: How many potatoes does Faigel need for her latkes?

"ALL OF THEM!" PRONOUNCED THE RABBI. "THAT'S WHAT POTATOES ARE FOR AT HANUKKAH!"

"YOU ARE SO WISE" SAID SHMUEL.

Soon Faigel has peeled and grated the whole batch of potatoes. Now she needs chopped onions. But how many for such a lot of potatoes?

Back goes Shmuel to ask the wise Rabbi, who says she should chop all she's got. On Hanukkah, onions are meant for latkes. Weeping from the onions, Faigel chops and chops. But now Faigel has no idea how many eggs she needs to mix in this huge batch of latkes.

"HOW MANY HAVE YOU GOT?" THE RABBI SAID.

Shmuel can hardly believe what the Rabbi is saying, but back he goes, and Faigel mixes and stirs and begins to fry up latkes. Soon she's up to her eyebrows in delicious golden cakes. But how can Faigel and Shmuel EAT so many? They only have two mouths, you know. Back to the Rabbi's house goes Shmuel.

"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS TOO MANY LATKES!" CRIES THE RABBI. "YOU NEED MORE MOUTHS!

And the rabbi calls out the whole village of Chelm, mouths and all, and along with the wisest of rabbis, nobody's stomach is grumbling that day as they finish off Faigel and Shmuel's latkes together.

And on Hanukkah, that's what mouths are for, in Linda Glaser's comic tale of the famous foolish people of Chelm, in her Way Too Many Latkes: A Hanukkah in Chelm (KAR-BEN Books). Humorously and deliciously illustrated by Aleksandar Zolotic, in elaborate and charming scenes of manic cookery, this story of too much of a good thing is a tasty treat for the holiday season, one that makes even people who've never had a latke long for one--or more. Share this one with Tomie de Paola's similarly-themed and delightful noodle tale, of the foolish helper who tries out the magic pasta pot and happily fills his little town with pasta for everyone, Strega Nona.

Gifted: Boris and Stella and The Perfect Gift by Dana Goldman

BORIS AND STELLA LIVED IN THE CITY.

BORIS PLAYED PIANO EVERY NIGHT IN THE LITTLE RESTAURANT DOWNSTAIRS. HE PLAYED MUSIC THAT HE LEARNED GROWING UP IN RUSSIA.

STELLA ADMIRED HIS MUSIC.

STELLA WAS A BAKER. SHE BAKED CAKES IN THE LITTLE SHOP NEXT DOOR THAT SHE HAD LEARNED TO MAKE GROWING UP IN ITALY.

BORIS ADMIRED HER CAKES.

IT WAS TRUE LOVE.

But the holidays are coming and both Boris and Stella have a problem. They both want to give each other the perfect present.

Stella's purse has only a few coins, and she wants to buy Boris a special dreidel to join the ones he received from his parents for Hanukkah as a boy. She looks around her little apartment and sees only one thing of value--a beautiful pine tree grown from seeds that her father gave her when she left Italy.

SUDDENLY STELLA HAD AN IDEA.

STELLA DIDN'T NEED THE TREE THAT REMINDED HER OF HER FAMILY DURING CHRISTMAS. THEY WERE ALWAYS IN HER HEART.

The florist shop nearby is happy to buy her beautiful Christmas tree for their show window, and Stella hurries to a shop across town which sells her the perfect dreidel for her dear Boris's collection.

Meanwhile, Boris has the same dilemma. He has no extra money for the perfect gift for Stella. Then his eyes fall on his collection of vintage dreidels, the ones his parents gave him every year already arrayed on his mantle with his menorrah, ready for Hanukkah.

SUDDENLY BORIS HAD AN IDEA.

HE DIDN'T NEED THE DREIDELS TO REMIND HIM OF HIS FAMILY. THEY WERE ALWAYS IN HIS HEART.

Boris hurries out to the shops, their windows full of Christmas things. And there it is atop a beautiful Christmas tree--a lovely faceted crystal star--the perfect gift for his dear Stella.

On the final day of Hanukkah, which this year is also Christmas Eve, Boris and Stella share their favorite foods, Boris's savory latkes topped with sour cream, just as Stella loves them, and Stella's beautiful pannetone, topped with hazelnuts and chocolate, just as Boris likes it. But then Stella notices something is missing. Where are the dreidels that Boris always has on his mantle for Hanukkah?

Boris pulls out his gift, the beautiful star for her Christmas tree, and tells her how he bought it for her perfect gift--a star for the top of a Christmas tree she no longer owns.

"MAMMA MIA!" STELLA CRIED.

Silently Stella pulls forth the wonderful dreidel she has for Boris, to join the precious collection he no longer possesses.

"BOZHE MIO! (OH, NO!)" SAID BORIS.

In a deft reworking of the O'Hanry's classic American Christmas story, The Gift of the Magi, Dana Goldman's Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift (Sleeping Bear Press, 2014) retells for young readers the story of a loving pair who give up their most precious possessions to buy the perfect gift for each other. Like newlyweds Della and Jim in the original, Stella and Boris laugh together and then join hands as they understand the sacrifice behind their gifts. They place a cone from Stella's tree and the single new dreidel on the mantle as the beginning of their own holiday collection. A gift truly given from the heart is the perfect gift indeed.

Goldman's repurposed story loses none of the sweetness and meaning of the century-old classic. Hanukkah stories are few and far between, and stories that movingly combine Christmas and Hanukkah together are rare indeed. Goldman's illustrations have all the humor and joy that such a story as this deserves, the perfect gift, a fine read-aloud for the holiday season for all.

Hanukkah Story: Latkes and Applesauce by Fran Manuskin

It happened long ago in a village far away where there lived a family named Menashe. Papa and Mama were tailors who had two children, Rebecca and Ezra.

It is almost Hanukkah when a tremendous blizzard strikes--"as if Heaven's featherbed had burst!" Although the menorah and dreidel are ready for the traditional celebration, the potatoes are covered by the deep snow and the apples are few. It seems there will be no latkes and applesauce for Hanukkah this year.

"No latkes?" said Papa. "Ah, well, then let us sip our soup."

As the family lights the first candle in the menorah and gathers around their meagre holiday meal, a plaintive "mew" is heard, and the children rush to the door to find a wet and cold orange kitten on the stoop. "Cats are one of God's creatures. Of course, we will care for her," says Papa.

The kitten is fed a bit of the milk Mama has saved for the children. But the storm continues to rage the next day. "I am not complaining," said Papa, "but I would love to wrap my mouth around a latke. Miracles have happened before."

That day a skinny brown dog also appears at their door, and although the family has little left to eat but one loaf of bread, they take in the starving dog and share what they have with him as well. The storm continues six more days, and the family has nothing left but breadcrumbs for breakfast. "Now, now," says Papa, "Where there is life, there is hope!"

And hope there is on the eighth day, when the snow stops and the sun comes out. Dressing in their warmest coats, the family ventures out with their dog and cat. Their kindness is repaid when the dog begins to dig in the snow and uncovers a plenitude of potatoes. "It is a dog's nature to dig," says Papa. "Latkes tonight!"

As they begin to gather the potatoes happily, Ezra hears the kitten mewing from the top of the apple tree. "It's a kitten's nature to climb and cry to come down, and it is a person's nature to help her," says Papa, cheerfully climbing up the branches.

And, of course, in the top of the tree with the kitten he finds many apples. "A miracle," says Papa. In short order the potatoes and apples are peeled and the latkes are fried in the bit of oil Mama has saved for the celebration. The family enjoys their Hanukkah meal at last, sharing it with their brown dog, newly named Latke and their orange kitten, now named Applesauce.

"Now, was this a miracle? Who can say? It happened and that is miracle enough for anyone."

Fran Manuskin's Hannukah Story (Latkes And Applesauce) is the sort of old-fashioned cozy tale, with just a touch of suspense, which will appeal to young children. Details of the homey Hanukkah celebration are seamlessly tucked in to the story, and Robin Spowart's soft, stylized illustrations add to the folkloric flavor of the narrative. A full-fledged appendix provides not only a "History of the Holiday of Hanukkah," but a delicious-sounding recipe for potato latkes and a full description of "How to Play Dreidel," including the Hebrew characters on the dreidel and the Yiddish words for which they stand and why this game is associated with the holiday.

Latkes and Brisket: There Was A Young Rabbi--A Hannukah Tale by Suzanne Wolfe

THERE WAS A YOUNG RABBI WHO READ THE TORAH.

SHE READ THE TORAH AND LIT THE MENORAH.

But this young rabbi has another vocation, and as all mothers know, it's no vacation!

Yes, this young rabbi is an energetic woman with a husband and two children, and in addition to her duties to her congregation, she also has the job of celebrating the joys of Hanukkah at home! She lights the candles, one each night, on her home menorah, until all eight glow in memory of the little bit of oil which lit the lights for the first Hanukkah. But that's not all...

She fries up the latkes, enough so everyone in the family can have some. And that's not all that the young rabbi cooks up at home.

THERE WAS A YOUNG RABBI WHO MADE A NICE BRISKET.

IT'S KOSHER, OF COURSE, OR SHE WOULDN'T HAVE RISKED IT!

She plays dreidel with the kids, and wins a game, too! So she eats a chocolate gelt; that's what winners get to do!

And when all eight candles shine on the eighth and last night, they all open their gifts by the bright candlelight!

In Suzanne Wolfe's rhyming story, There Was a Young Rabbi: A Hanukkah Tale (/Lerner/Kar-Ben Publishing, 2020), illustrated with zest by artist Jeffery Ebbeler, the energetic young female rabbi presides over the professional holiday practices and the festive family fun as well, in a jolly story about the holiday season. It won't take more than a few lines for savvy primary graders to identify the rhyme scheme of this story as the famous format of the folksong "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly," used so prolifically by author Lucille Colandro's and artist Jared Lee's holiday and seasonal series, such as There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover! (see reviews here). With an unusually early Hanukkah coming up this year, be sure to make room in the holiday readings for this different and clever story.

Says Booklist, "The strong rhyme scheme and repetition in this Hanukkah tale will soon have young listeners chanting along!"

Tradition Rendition: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket

This story ends in someone's mouth, but it begins in a tiny village more or less covered in snow.

In a satiric send-up of The Gingerbread Boy motif, Lemony Snicket, of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame, gives us a latke who takes it on the lam, literally jumping out of the frying pan, through an open window, and into the snow-covered landscape outside.

Out there it's a winter wonderland, all right, with all but one of the rustic cottages decorated with flashing colored lights and other appurtenances of the Santa season, and our little latke, translated for the unknowing reader as "a word which here means "potato pancake," greets the scene with a loud, long (two-page) scream: "AAAHHHHHHH!"

"What's all the ruckus?" inquires one of the ubiquitous flashing colored lights. "We're the ones who are supposed to be dominating the neighborhood with our cheerful glow." The latke tries to explain that he's reacting to the pan full of hot oil which symbolizes the miracle of the temple's oil lamps after the Maccabees defeated Antiochus IV. "Plus, frying makes my skin crispy and brown," explains the latke.

"So you're basically hash browns," said the flashing colored lights. "Maybe you can be served alongside a Christmas ham."

"I'm NOT hash browns." the latke protests. "I'm something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!"

"AAAHHHHHHHH!"

Protesting being tossed into the secular Christmas stew as hash browns, the little latke escapes his flashy fellow symbol only to find himself face to face with a peppy candy cane. "I'm trying to sprinkle the night air with my peppermint scent," said the candy cane. "All that yelping is spoiling the effect!" Patiently the latke explains that the mouth-watering smell of hot latkes reminds the people that they no longer have to study the Torah in secret caves, pretending to be gambling over a hot game of dreidel whenever soldiers approach.

"Sort of like Mary and Joseph hiding out in the manger," remarks the candy cane helpfully. "Someone should write Christmas carols about that!"

"I'm NOT part of Christmas," the latke objects. "It's a TOTALLY DIFFERENT thing!"

"AAAHHHHHHHH!"

Still steaming over becoming the subject of a Christmas carol, the latke plops down under a snowy pine tree in the forest. "Are you a present?" the pine tree asked. "Presents are pretty much the only things allowed to sit beneath me during this time of year."

"Presents aren't really a big part of Hanukkah," the latke points out determinedly. "It's more important to light the candles eight consecutive nights to commemorate the miracle in the temple..., so you shouldn't give up hope."

"Plus, Santa Claus," said the pine tree.

"Santa Claus has nothing to do with it! Christmas and Hanukkah are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things!"

"But different things can often blend together," said the pine tree. "Let me tell you a funny story about pagan rituals."

Just as the folklore-loving conifer launches into his literary lecture, a family comes cheerily trooping through the forest, the father armed with a well-sharpened axe. "We'll never find a good one," grumps the father. "You shouldn't give up hope," said the mother. "Look! It's perfect!" said the daughter. "It's beautiful," said the son. "Such a marvelous shape!" said the mother. "And its skin looks so crispy," said the father.

It seems that this family knows all about latkes, their symbolism and their succulent crispy skins as well. "I'll refry it in oil to remind us of the rededication of the temple," said the practical mother. "What was I thinking, bringing this axe?" said the father.

In his ironic spoof of the St. Nick-centric view of the holiday season, Lemony Snicket sets us all straight about the silliness of seeing Hanukkah as a hash-browned version of Christmas. The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story has a bit of his droll tongue-in-cheek fun at the expense of the non-serious symbols of the season.

But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us. Whether you are an electric form of decoration, a peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake, on a cold, snowy night, everyone and everything should be welcomed somewhere, and the latke was welcomed into a home filled with people who understood what a latke is and how it fits into its particular holiday.

And then they ate it.

A-A-A-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!

For another of Snicket's stories of the wintry season, see also his satiric stocking-stuffer, The Lump of Coal.

The Whole Package! Dear Santa, .... Love, Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Pate and Andrea Trover

Dear Santa,
I live in the big brick house on Huntley Drive. Yes, the one with NO holiday decorations. It does have a chimney, and there will be cookies waiting.

I have been good all year, and I know you are a fair person and will not mind that I am Jewish. After all, so was Jesus, at least on his mother's side.
      Love,
     Rachel Rosenstein

RACHEL ROSENSTEIN LOVED CHRISTMAS!

Sure, being Jewish is fun a lot of the time. She receives eight gifts during Hanukkah and gets to eat all the latkes she can hold. She gets to try out blowing the shofar at Rosh Hashanah, and hunt the afikomen on Passover. She hears Papa Murray say the same blessing his papa and papa's papa and papa's papa's papa said way on back for a really long time. It's all good!

But when Christmas decorations start to go up all over, Rachel gets that yen for the whole package--the Christmas trees, the colored lights, the bright store windows full of tinsely, glittering things, the music, and of course the piles of brightly wrapped presents! Mom makes it clear that Christmas is not coming to the Rosenstein house. Still, Rachel tags along with a friend to see Santa Claus, and the poor guy in the St. Nick suit seems stuck with what to say to her unusual request. But Rachel doesn't give up.

"CAN WE PLEASE PUT UP A TREE THIS YEAR? EMILY'S FAMILY HAS A TREE AND THEY'RE JEWISH," ASKS RACHEL.

"YOU CAN'T SIT ON TWO HORSES WITH ONE BEHIND," PAPA MURRAY SAYS, WITH MOCK SERIOUSNESS.

"AFTER THAN MEAL, I CAN!" JOKES MOM.

But Rachel doesn't give up hope. Maybe Santa did get her letter. On December 24, she makes some decorations for her room. She rummages for some cookies in the cabinet, and when she finds none, she improvises with some leftover Hanukkah latkes with chocolate chips pushed down into them, along with a glass of milk for Santa.

But Rachel's plans are all for naught. In the morning the downstairs halls are still not decked, and there are no presents under a sparkly tree waiting for her.

Mom is not all that sympathetic as she gets ready for work.

"NOBODY ELSE'S MOM WORKS ON CHRISTMAS!" RACHEL COMPLAINS.

But as Mom heads out in her scrubs, she points out that kids still get sick at the hospital and somebody has to be there. And Dad collects Papa Murray and they all head out for their traditional Christmas dinner--at the Chinese restaurant. Papa Murray orders chicken feet and Daddy sticks chopstick up his nose and pretends to be a walrus, but Rachel is still glum... until she sees some friends from her class.

"LUCY DENG! MIKE RASHID! AMINA SINGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"WE DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS, EITHER, AND THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE OPEN!" SAID MIKE.

But Lucy points out that it's just a few weeks till Chinese New Year, and Amina says she can't wait till Divali, their festival of lights, and Rachel remembers that her Hanukkah is also a festival of lights. The kids share fortune cookies and their own favorite holidays, and at last Rachel gets it that all her friends celebrate special days in their own way, in Amanda Pate and Andrea Trover's Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein (Doubleday Books, 2015). Pate and Trover do a lighthearted and empathetic job of portraying Rachel's wish to have it all in the way of holidays, while the award-winning artist Christine Davenier, who has illustrated books for noted authors such as Norma Fox Mazer, Julia Andrews, Amy Hest, and recently Grace Maccarone's Miss Lina's Ballerinas series, adds her charming illustrations of children enjoying their own family holidays with all the trimmings.

Says Publishers Weekly, "... the story’s real inspiration is having disconsolate Rachel run into her Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindi friends all at the same Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day—a lovely and pointed reminder that America is a land of many 'great holidays.'”

Candle Light, Window Bright! Happy Llamakkah by Laura Gehl

CANDLES TO LIGHT.

MORE EVERY NIGHT!

In the time of the darkest dark of winter, the candles of Hanukkah appear, lighted one by one until the last, highest candle glows, ready to go into the window to challenge the dark.

Dreidles get spun to remind that miracles were done.

Gifts are given, bright gold foil-covered glittery gelt.

Latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganlyot (donuts) are fried in plenty of oil to remind the children of the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days when the temple was re-consecrated.

It's Llamakkah for young llamas, likely making a debut as a stars of a story about religious festival, in a path well-paved by bears and mice, reindeer and dogs in all those Christmas storybooks, in Laura Gehl's cleverly portmanteau-titled Happy Llamakkah! (Abrams Appleseed Books, 2020).

Written in tercets, with three-line rhymes, the young celebrants move through the games and rituals of the special days, one candle at a time, and ending with the lighted menorrah glowing in the window, proudly displayed for the world to see, just as lighted Christmas trees and candles also shine--as the author points out in her Author's Notes, for all to see, a symbol of freedom of religion, freely granted to all. Artist Lydia Nichols' little llamas and alpacas go through the beloved rituals of celebration, softly portrayed, mostly in profile, as they share the fun of the days of Passover. A good read-aloud to recognize the rituals of Hanukkah for preschool and early primary children.

Careful What You Wish For! The Fisherman and the Turtle by Erik A. Kimmel

One morning a fisherman cast his net as he always did. As he pulled it up, he felt something heavy in it. It was a green sea turtle.

The turtle spoke, "Fisherman! I am no ordinary turtle. I am one of the seven sons of Opochtli, god of the sea. Spare my life and I will grant you a wish.

What should I wish for? the fisherman wondered. "I know!" he said. "Give me four fish! I have never had a catch like that!"

In his Fisherman and the Turtle Eric Kimmel works his magic as a reteller of folktales, this time taking the Grimm Brothers' The Fisherman and His Wife, setting it instead in the days of the Aztec Empire. Accustomed to a meagre catch of one, two or three fish which daily kept him and his wife fed, the fisherman happily recites his good fortune to his wife when he returns from the sea.

Instead of being pleased, his wife flew into a rage.

"You foolish man. That turtle would have given you anything you wished for. Instead you asked for four stinking fish. Go back to the sea. Find the turtle. Tell him I am tired of living in a hut. I want a stone house. I want to be RICH!"

Of course, as in its German predecessor, the greedy wife is soon singing the "I Can't Be Satisfied" blues. Tiring of being simply rich and pampered, she orders her husband back to sea to tell the turtle to make her king. "Go home. It is done," the turtle said."

Back home, the poor fisherman learns that the great Aztecs have taken his wife to Tenochtitlan, where he finds her lolling on a carved throne, braceletted and necklaced with gold and jade and wearing the crown of quetzal feathers.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

"For now," she said.

But in no time the greedy wife demands that her husband return to the sea turtle and demand that he make her one of the gods of Tenochtitlan.

Turtle living in the sea,
son of great Opochtli,
my angry wife has made a vow.
She wants more than she has now.

"And what do you want?" the turtle asked.

"I want to go home," the fisherman said.

And the wise turtle god grants both their wishes in his own way. Returning to his home,the fisherman finds his old hut instead of the grand stone house, and beside it, his wife, now like all the other gods in Tenochtitlan--a statue in stone.

Centuries have passed. The hut and the Aztecs are gone. But the great turtle still swims in the sea.

If you met him, what would you wish for?

With the striking illustrations of Martha Aviles and an engaging new setting, Kimmel's skillful combining of the Grimm's well-known story with the Singaporean "The Crown of Sang Nila Utama" makes the old tale shine like a new penny, its theme of burgeoning greed intact, for a new generation of readers.

For more of Kimmel's magical hand with folktales from all over the world, see his African Anansi stories such as the classic Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, his wonderful Hanukkah story, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, and his Japanese tale, Three Samurai Cats: A Story From Japan.

Angels Among Us: Gifts of the Heart by Patricia Polacco

A very strange-looking woman was standing there at the door. The snowflakes swirled around her like a soft white cloak.

"The name's KAY LAMITY. I'm your new housekeeper!" she booms.

"You talk funny," said Richie. "Where you from?"

"YAZOO, Mississippi!"

"I know what your name means, don't you? Calamity?"

"I'll be shakin' things up a little around here!" Kay promised.

Richie and Trisha's grandmother has just died. Grampa is sad and gruff, their mom teaches long days at the school in town, the kids are facing their last Christmas on the farm, and things don't look too good.

But after Kay cooks up a storm of fried chicken and bread pudding "clean out of your gramma's recipe box," things look a bit better, and in the next few days the house is cleaned from stem to stern and the kids are well fed. Still, they miss Gramma.

"I ain't never lettin' her take Gramma's place. I never," said Richie.

"Boy I can stare down an armadillo while dancing on the back of a wild boar and tussling an alligator to the ground while whistling "Sweet Land of Dixie," said Kay.

Kay also claims to be the best checkers player south of the Mason-Dixon line, and she soon becomes Richie's favorite opponent. But Christmas without Gramma still has the kids in the dumps, so bad that when they go to town to see Santa Claus at the store, Richie is feeling mean enough to blurt out to little Trisha that he recognizes old man Barkovic under that ratty red hat and wispy beard.

"There really isn't a Santa!" Trisha admitted in tears.

There's no Gramma, no Santa Claus, and Trisha knows there's little money for gifts either. Kay Lamity tells her that there are store-bought gifts that are good enough and then there are gifts of the heart that are better, but even after making gifts for Mama and Grampa, Trisha is not consoled.

"Just because you don't see Santa Claus doesn't mean that he ain't there," Kay tells her.

And when Trisha wakes in the middle of the night to bells on the roof and Richie spots the runner tracks in the snow outside, they find both kinds of gifts right under their noses and right under their tree. The mysterious Kay Lamity is not your average angel, but in Patricia Polacco's Gifts of the Heart (G.P. Putnam's, 2013), she'll do. As Tomie DePaola's classic Merry Christmas, Strega Nona tells us, "Christmas has a magic of its own."  Polacco catches a bit of that magic in her poignant Depression-era Christmas story.

 Polacco's stories often include her alter ego Trish and her red-headed brother, Richie, and they appear here in a story of two lonely children whose spirits really need the magic of Christmas. As always, Polacco's signature style of illustrations, homespun, modest, but loving and lovely, gives this familiar story of the meaning of Christmas a unique flavor that warms the heart. As Kirkus points out, "...it's Kay Lamity who stands out as the shining star of this touching, longer story. The story has humor, deeper meaning, and a mystery as to Kay Lamity's true identity.

For more of that magic (not the fairy dust kind, but the kind that comes from the human heart), see Polacco's other Christmas and Hanukkah stories, Christmas Tapestry, An  Orange for Frankie, The Trees of the Dancing Goats (Aladdin Picture Books), and Uncle Vova's Tree.

Ringing It In Right! The Night before New Year's by Natasha Wing

''TWAS THE LAST DAY OF DECEMBER,
A WHOLE YEAR HAD FLOWN BY.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE
A WHOLE YEAR HAD GONE BY!

But one thing has changed over that year. The two youngsters have grown up some, and the senior lad now has a yen to experience that magic moment when the calendar turns the page to a brand new year. And to his surprise, his parents grant his grown-up wish!

WE WERE PRETTY EXCITED.
OUR PUPPY WAS, TOO!

WE CHANTED, "OUT WITH THE OLD,
IN WITH THE NEW!"

Even the preparations for their party are exciting. The family heads off to stock up on supplies--party hats and horns to toot, confetti and streamers, popcorn and poppers, balloons and a banner that spells out HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's hard to wait. New Year's Eve day is almost as long as Christmas Eve!

But after a late-night supper with favorite treats--pizza and cupcakes--all he can eat, the whole family toasts memories of the old year and the New Year together! The boy recalls fun holidays with dozens of cousins, and then Dad reveals another end-of-year tradition--New Year's resolutions! Mom and Dad have theirs ready to announce, but the boy draws a total blank.

They watch the crowd in Times Square on television, and sleepy little brother follows their puppy to dreamland in the doggy bed, but then--surprise--there are fantastic fireworks outside their window. Now the boy is wide awake, and, (a plus!) he gets to pop all the poppers by himself. Then it's close to midnight, and the boy waits quietly on the sofa for the final countdown to turn the page on the calendar, toss the confetti and streamers, and shout "Happy New Year!" out the window. . . .

... THE NEXT THING I KNEW
IT WAS SUNNY AND BRIGHT.

RATS! WE MISSED RINGING IN
THE NEW YEAR LAST NIGHT!

But there is one consolation! Our boy has his resolution--to make it till midnight next New Year's Eve, in Natasha Wing's The Night Before New Year's (Grossett and Dunlap, 2017 pb. ed). Author Natasha Wing is the Empress of Eves with her sizable series of The Night Before books, and this one makes a great run-through for young readers just coming of age to welcome in the new year. Wing's bouncy rhyming quatrains practically read themselves, and artist Amy Wummer provides the homey New Year's scenes to give kids a perfect preview of the festivities.

Other well-loved seasonal books in this series are The Night Before Hanukkah and The Night Before the Night Before Christmas.

Back Off, Tiny Tim! A Very Baby Mouse Christmas by Jennifer L. Holm

Baby Mouse will do whatever it takes to make sure she gets the present she wants this year--even if she must outsmart Santa himself!

BabyMouse wants a Whiz-Bang, the electronic gizmo du jour, It's a phone; it texts; it's a video game and music player; it does everything her heart desires--except straighten her permanently kinked whiskers. But that's a story for another day.

Right now, BabyMouse has to make sure that Whiz-Bang is in her stocking on Christmas morning, and she plans her campaign as carefully as a military tactician. She drops hints like mad at home; she writes a personal letter to Santa making her case, and just in case the mail goes astray, she disguises herself as a tot in line to see Santa at the Mall. She enters a best-holiday-decorated locker contest at school hoping to win one, with disastrous results to her locker door. She searches all the usual hiding places on closet shelves at home, but only succeeds in inducing avalanches of old boots and mittens. She thinks about nothing but Whiz-Bangs as she goes to Wilson's for Hanukkah, takes in the Nutcracker ballet, featuring the Dance of the Sugar Plum Whiz-Bang, and even has a disturbing dream where she is Scrooge, visited by the three Ghosts of Mean Girls.

"No crumbs for YOU, Bob Crachett. I need to sell my cupcakes so I can buy a Whiz-Bang."

Finally Christmas morning arrives. Under her tree BabyMouse finds--a doll house!

"Does Santa even READ those letters?"

And then--her faith is restored. There is one more small, rectangular package for her, and inside--Oh, Joy!--a Whiz-Bang! There's just one problem.

"Batteries not included."

"Typical" said BabyMouse.

Will BabyMouse find the true meaning of Christmas with her family while her much-wanted Whiz-Bang lies battery-less? You betcha!

In three-time Newbery author Jennifer Holm's A Very BabyMouse Christmas (Random House, 2011) our heroine finds fun and fulfillment with her family, ably abetted by the cartoons of brother Matthew Holm, in book #5 of her best-selling middle grade graphic novels. Baby Mouse gets the spirit of Christmas right at last.

"Sometimes the best presents are the ones you don't expect."

Deck The Walls! The Crayons Christmas by Drew Daywalt

One snowy December Day, Duncan was making Christmas cards with his crayons.

The mailman rings with a Christmas card, but it's not for Duncan. It's from Mom and it's for her favorite crayon, Peachie Pie, with some snazzy punch-out dresses for Peachie to try on.

What's going on? It's a snow storm of Christmas cards to all his crayons-- perfectly browned cookies for Beige Crayon, a banana for change of pace for a snowman's nose just for Yellow Crayon, a box of bright-colored punch-out ornaments for the Christmas tree, a Hanukkah card with a dreidel for Gray Crayon, and one addressed to TODDLER CRAYON in big letters.

There is even a surprise pop-up Christmas tree, in Drew Daywalt's holiday gift to their young fans, The Crayons' Christmas (Penguin Workshop, 2019), offering young readers the fun of opening a Christmas card on each page, with real letters and games inside for kids to open and enjoy. It's a delightful holiday toy-and-movable book, with the familiar drawings of noted artist Oliver Jeffers, done (of course) in crayon. This one is a special gift for fans that comes already "wrapped" for Christmas giving.