(2) K-3 Translated by Ilana Kurshan. Illustrated by Carmel Ben Ami. Uri, his little sister Shir, and their mother are waiting for their father to come home to begin their Hanukkah celebration. As evening falls, Uri starts to worry. He imagines, and then draws, Dad in various possible real-life jams (flat tire, stuck in the rain). Looking out the window, he's freaked out by the shadows, which take the shape of an advancing army led by a blobby-shaped King of Darkness; an appended note makes the connection to King Antiochus IV and the Hanukkah story. Just as Uri and Shir summon their courage, their father appears -- bearing jelly doughnuts traditional for the holiday, and ready to light the candles. Effective rhyming text carries readers along while colorful, sketchlike illustrations are a creative mix of realistic and imagined scenarios

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024