By David A. Adler
The real story behind the eight candles, the Maccabees, the rededicated Temple, and the little jar of oil that lasted eight days, told plainly for a curious child.
This is the one that answers the question a curious child eventually asks: why do we do all this? It tells the actual history behind Hanukkah. Long ago the ruler Antiochus outlawed the Jewish religion and took over the great Temple in Jerusalem. A small band led by Judah Maccabee refused to give up their traditions and fought back, and against the odds they won and took the Temple back. When they went to rededicate it, they found only enough oil to keep the lamp lit for one day, but it burned for eight. That's the miracle the eight candles remember. The book closes with how the holiday is celebrated today, plus a latke recipe and dreidel rules.
Your child has celebrated Hanukkah for years but never heard the story underneath it, and this is the gift that fills that in. David Adler tells real history plainly and clearly, without watering it down or making it dry, so a curious five-to-ten-year-old finally understands what the candles, the oil, and the eight nights actually mean. The recipe and dreidel rules at the back make it a book a family can do things with, not just read. It's the anchor of the shelf, the one that gives all the others their meaning.