(2) K-3 Illustrated by Anna Krajewska. The people of Schmoozeville are fighting “like Judah and the Maccabees”: do latkes go best with applesauce or sour cream? Our narrator, a child visiting her bubbe, makes a golem out of leftover dreidel clay; the creature’s experimentation with latke toppings brings more chaos until the narrator steps up and makes further connections between this fight and the Maccabees’. The silly perennial debate is an amusing way to get to the inevitable ­community celebration. ­Illustrations of a town reminiscent of a playset fit the ­not-to-be-taken-too-seriously text, as does the usually-smiling rainbow-colored golem. Holiday, golem, and related information and a glossary are appended.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Gila von Meissner. With Hanukkah fast approaching, Oliver writes an email to Santa: "I'm Jewish. And that means you don't have to come down my chimney on Christmas Eve. I just wanna make sure you know." Santa writes back with what he thinks is reassurance, but then missteps in wishing Oliver a "Happy Chrismukkah." The correspondence continues ("that's not my holiday") in informative and humorous ways. Cheerful cartoony illustrations, blue-heavy for Oliver's settings and red-and-green for Santa's, include seasonal motifs and clever details. The Jewish family's varied skin tones, along with other non Christmas observers and diversity among the elves, are added pluses for representation.

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