I Have a Little Dreidel

If, like me, you can neither remember the words of the dreidel song from year to year, nor what each hebrew letter stands for, this book is perfect for you. I agree with reviews that say the book is repetitious, but for my 3 and 4 year olds, that's a plus. My kids enjoyed the illustrations as well. As a mom, I love the two pages in the back, one outlining how to play the dreidel - with clear description of the four hebrew letters - and how to make potato latkes. This book is going to be our hanukah reference book from now on.

While the familiar dreidel song has been illustrated in several children's books, this version cleverly adds new verses to the song detailing a contemporary family's celebration of Hanukkah. Besides just playing dreidel, the family makes latkes, lights the menorah, and enjoys a delicious dinner together. The festive illustrations are highly stylized and the text is surrounded by blue borders reminiscent of paper-cutting artwork. A potato latke recipe is included as well as instructions for playing dreidel and the music to the song. While it does not recount the story of the Maccabees, this is a fun introduction to Chanukah and a wonderful resource for teachers and Jewish parents looking for a book to use in the public schools during the December holidays.

Maxie Baum's I HAVE A LITTLE DREIDEL is a fine story of Hanukkah celebrations, adapting the popular dreidel song for new young audiences. Julie Paschkis provides the folk art perfect for pairing the dreidel song with cultural insights.

This adaptation of the dreidel song is paired with a rhyming story about a family and their relatives celebrating Hanukkah. They prepare and eat latkes, light eight candles (in the menorah, which is shown but not identified) and play the dreidel game. The story is on the left side of the book, and the refrain of the dreidel song appears on each facing page, framed in lovely blue and white painted borders. The borders look like papercuts, complete with Jewish stars and dreidels. The rollicking colorful gouache illustrations add to the child appeal, and will make this fun for families or teachers to read aloud. This was reviewed from a proof, which indicates that the completed book will include the music for the song, as well as directions for making latkes. Hopefully, it will also include directions for playing the dreidel game. The text says " some take pennies out and put pennies in, and " it drops and then I win," but it doesn't tell what the Hebrew letters stand for, nor does it give their numeric value or clear directions for playing the game. Recommended for ages 3-6, based on what the completed book will contain. Reviewed by Andrea Davidson