Hanukkah Books for Kids

To help his mother pay the rent, Louis Armstrong rode a junk wagon through the streets of New Orleans, playing a tin horn and collecting stuff people didn't want. Then one day, the junk wagon passed a pawn shop with a gleaming brass trumpet in the window...Learn the story of how young Louis obtained his first instrument and the Jewish family that helped along the way in this early chapter book.

When Christmas and the first night of Chanukah occur on the same day, Sophie and Max are confused. The children are used to the two parts of their identity remaining separate, celebrating with each part of their family in turn. But this year is different: all their grandparents are coming to partake in both Jewish and Christian traditions together. Complete with a sweet acknowledgment of the concern at the forefront of each child’s mind — how will this affect the presents?

Every December, a little girl in Virginia looks forward to receiving a crate of oranges from her grandparents in Miami, but this year is even better. The family is taking a driving trip to visit Nonna and Nonno in Florida! At Nonna and Nonno’s house, they pick grapefruit and oranges under the sun. They dance the salsa and play in the waves at the beach. Best of all, they celebrate Hanukkah together. The girls help Nonna make latkes, and buñuelos stuffed with almonds and guava jelly. It’s eight days of light and love.

The Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, celebrates the rededication of the Jewish temple after a group of ancient heroes defended their right to worship as they wished. This handsome little counting book honors the most joyful of Jewish holidays, and teaches readers how to count from one to eight in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish.

It was a chilly winter in the northern woods, but Ruthie did not mind. Dressed in her favorite puffy red coat, she was going to spend Hanukkah with her grandmother, who lived on the other side of the forest. Ruthie was bringing sour cream and applesauce to go along with the yummy latkes. She carefully packed her basket and kissed her mother good-bye. Snow began to fall. Soon Ruthie was lost in a thicket, and she was not alone. Someone was hiding behind the tree, and when he jumped out, Ruthie found herself face to face with a wolf.

A refugee seeking sanctuary from the horrors of Kristallnacht, Oskar arrives by ship in New York City with only a photograph and an address for an aunt he has never met. It is both the seventh day of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve, 1938. As Oskar walks the length of Manhattan, from the Battery to his new home in the north of the city, he passes experiences the city's many holiday sights, and encounters it various residents. Each offers Oskar a small act of kindness, welcoming him to the city and helping him on his way to a new life in the new world.

Celebrate Hanukkah with a diverse collection of poems and stories filled with history, humor, and hope. Cheer on a young baker as he tries to make sufganiyot from a family recipe. Learn about code breakers in England during World War II. Imagine hosting a refugee cousin or finding long-lost relatives. In this anthology, characters make discoveries, connect with family and friends, and mourn loved ones.

Ruby's cousin Avital is sad because her mom is going to be away on a work trip during Hanukkah. To help make sure Avital still has a happy holiday, Ruby plans an enormous eight-night treasure hunt. But will she be able to think up the right surprise for Avital to discover on the final night?

Polacco has a warm, colorful illustrative style she applies to what at first seems the simple story of a Jewish girl, Trisha, and her Christian neighbors, whose bout with scarlet fever at Christmas threatens to ruin Trisha's Hanukkah. Trisha and her family respond with a loving gesture that is rewarded in kind.