Light the Lights!: A Story About Celebrating Hanukkah & Christmas - Hardcover

Moorman, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590470035 ISBN 13: 9780590470032

Publisher: Cartwheel Books, 1994

Synopsis

Every year, Emma and her parents celebrate Hanukkah with her father and his family, and Christmas with her mother and their friends

About this title

From Booklist:

Ages 5-8. Interfaith families and families that aren't religious crave materials that validate the observance of holidays from the traditions of different faiths. In one of a very few such picture books, Moorman focuses on a household's joyous celebrations of Hanukkah and Christmas, two festivals that frequently occur close together on the wintertime calendar. The book's title reflects a motif common to both: candles in a menorah glow brightly in Emma's house during the eight days of the Jewish holiday; later, lights shimmer beautifully from her family's Christmas tree. The family's celebrations are purely secular, and Emma's response to everything--be it getting presents or playing dreidel--is sheer delight, which Moorman captures nicely in her bright, unpretentious paintings. The story, however, is very slight, and there's no sense of the origins of the holidays, which are very different. Had Moorman supplied some background--perhaps in an afterword--her book would have been richer. Stephanie Zvirin

From Publishers Weekly:

"Let's light the lights!" says Emma's father each year at Hanukkah, and Emma helps him eagerly with the menorah. "Let's light the lights!" says her mother each year at Christmas, and just as eagerly Emma decorates the tree. Moorman makes a promising debut here, and her sprightly watercolors set a cheerful note. The book steers clear of the religious significance of these holidays, emphasizing instead the opportunities they create for special moments with friends and family. Families who embrace both Christian and Jewish holidays will find this a welcome addition to the bookshelf. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cartwheel Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0590470035
• ISBN 13: 9780590470032
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1