One Candle

Bunting, Eve

ISBN 10: 0060281162 ISBN 13: 9780060281168

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

"What do you think Grandma wants to do this year?"

I don't know for sure. But I think it has to do with being strong in the bad time and remembering it in the good time.

For one family the traditional Hanukkah celebration has a deeper meaning. Amidst the food and the festivities, Grandma and Great-Aunt Rose begin their story-the one they tell each year. They pass on to each generation a tale of perseverance during the darkest hours of the Holocaust, and the strength it took to continue to honor Hanukkah in the only way they could.

Best-selling author Eve Bunting's touching and joyous story about the importance of remembrance is exquisitely rendered by K. Wendy Popp's remarkable pastels. One Candle reaffirms the values of tradition and family, but also shows us that by continuing to honor the tragedies and the triumphs of the past there will always be hope for the future.

About this title

About the Author:

Eve Bunting was born in Ireland and came to California with her husband and three children. She is one of the most acclaimed and versatile children's book authors, with more than two hundred novels and picture books to her credit. Among her honors are many state awards, the Kerlan Award, the Golden Kite Award, the Regina Medal, the Mystery Writers of America and the Western Writers of America awards, and a PEN International Special Achievement award for her contribution to children's literature. In 2002, Ms. Bunting was chosen to be Irish-American Woman of the Year by the Irish-American Heritage Committee of New York.

From Booklist:

Gr. 2-3, younger for reading aloud. When Grandma and Grandpa arrive for Hanukkah celebrations, Grandma always brings a potato--but not for the traditional potato latkes, which are already filling the house with a luscious aroma. When prayers, candle lighting, and dinner are complete, Grandma, sitting beside Great-Aunt Rose, tells the familiar family story of how a potato that she smuggled from the kitchen at Buchenwald became a light of hope, uniting the girls in the barracks to one another and to the heroic Maccabees of long ago. Popp invests her art with all the emotion of Bunting's heartfelt text--the affection of a close-knit family celebrating the sorrow of lost friends and relatives, and the courage that grew out of tragic times. The sepia palette is infused with glowing light for scenes in the camp while dollops of color distinguish the contemporary celebration. There's a photo-realistic quality to Popp's portraiture that makes it seem as if she has used models from life that she knows well and loves. A gentle but forthright opening for discussion about the Holocaust. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060281162
• ISBN 13: 9780060281168
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Popp K. Wendy