Nine Spoons: A Chanukah Story

This is a wonderful moving story of a woman who was able to fashion a menorrah for Hannukah out of spoons. Spoons were precious because they were needed to get more food as people were starving and spoons allowed people to get the leftover soups. What a story!

The talented Marci Stillerman infuses this remarkable matzo-ball-soup concoction with the sense of wonder requisite in children's writing, the sense of history that we all need (grownups too), the sense of adventure and danger and overcoming obstacles that keep kids turning the pages, and a reverence for Jewish history, faith and culture. Fun fact: Marci's husband Jack wrote his childhood memoirs titled "Yankee Doodle Boychick." Buy both books and score a one-two punch for children, faith, and family.

Children should learn about greatest tragedy, that happened to the humankind. It is tough, but they should know. Because, if they will not know it from early childhood, if we "save" them from this tearfull emotions, good chance they would not bother to know about it when adults. Forgeting the tradegy makes it possible for similar tradegies to be inpreventive and repeat. This book is unbelivable way to achieve that learning. Not only it tells about Holocaust, but it also shows the strengh Jews had to survive, planting into young Jewish children proudness and similar strengh for fighting inequality, that unfortunetly still present in every, even most democratic, country

I recommend this book very highly as an addition to anyone's bookshelf of children's Chanukah literature. As a teacher and youth director, I have read the story to children grades 2-5. Every child is spell-bound by the story. The fact that it is based on real-life events makes it even more meaningful to them. This book is not to introduce the concepts/practices of the holiday. Rather it provides a mature dimension to the holiday. Though set during the Holocaust, the themes of deprivation and loss are softened by the fact that a the narrator, a grandmother, in either voice or image appears on many pages. It is helpful if the children have some prior knowledge of what the holocaust was, but the book's text gently explains all the necessary ideas without delving into traumatic loss or death. The illustrations are not as finely drawn as I would have wished. Others might find the drawings complementary to the book's stark setting. Bottom line, the illustrations don't in any way detract from the impact of the story. This is a special book to take out yearly during the holiday season.

This story is a really well written and illustrated age appropriate introduction to the Holocaust. Should be in every home and Library. Won the Sydney Taylor Award for best book.