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Snyder, Laurel

The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah

40 pp. | Clarion | September, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780063278141 $19.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Leanne Hatch. Snyder offers a poem and a “thought” for each night of Hanukkah, relatably emphasizing the ways the holiday intertwines with everyday life (more so, as an author’s note explains, than some other Jewish ­holidays). Celebrants light candles after going out for pizza, or early to avoid striking matches on Shabbat...or, when a flat tire delays their return home, on an improvised “bananukkiah.” The accessible poems elicit emotions such as the hushed anticipation of hanukkiah lighting, and the “thought” callouts make informative connections to Jewish law and tradition. The illustrations, digitally created using hand-painted textures, depict a celebrating family in homey scenes and in an atmospheric wintry landscape.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

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