Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! - Hardcover

Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. In this picture book for older children, Codell retells Dickens' A Christmas Carol, replacing Yule customs with those of the Festival of Lights. Old Scroogemacher, the owner of an early-twentieth-century New York City garment shop, mistreats his immigrant workers and reduces their wages at the slightest offence. The Rabbi of Hanukkah Past helps Scroogemacher to recall the origins of the holiday, the Rabbi of Hanukkah Present takes him on a tour of the crowded tenements where his employees live, and the Rabbi of Hanukkah Future informs her charge about current labor practices, offering Scroogemacher two possible scenarios for his nephew Moshe's future. Codell sprinkles her telling with a generous helping of Yiddish phrases, clarified in a glossary, and humorous asides designed for modern audiences: when Scroogemacher comments about the ubiquitousness of Christmas, the rabbi replies, "What can I say? They have good decorations." Pham's luminous artwork exhibits an Old World style suitable to the setting. Appended with source notes from the author and illustrator, this will find a niche as a family read-aloud. Kay Weisman
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