This is a unique take on the Fes­ti­val of Lights; only in the far north can Hanukkah be cel­e­brat­ed with lights quite like these!

A young girl who lives in Alas­ka is cel­ebrating the hol­i­day with her fam­i­ly. All the ele­ments are there: can­dles, latkes, drei­dels and presents. But her joy is damp­ened by a large moose, native to the area but threaten­ing just the same, which has come too close to the house and refus­es to be enticed away by apples or spinach or any oth­er induce­ment to move along. The fam­i­ly steps out­side to view one of nature’s dra­mat­ic won­ders, the auro­ra bore­alis, the north­ern lights, light­ing up the black vel­vet sky. It is a riot of col­or, reminis­cent of the melt­ing wax of all the Hanukkah can­dles in the world. It’s a heart­en­ing and encour­ag­ing sight and pro­vides the cre­ative young girl with just the idea she needs to lure the moose away from the house so the fam­i­ly can con­tin­ue to cel­e­brate with joy. 

The book is fit­ting­ly and per­fect­ly illus­trat­ed in rich col­or; the dou­ble-page spreads positive­ly shine. An author’s note explain­ing both the auro­ra bore­alis and the hol­i­day is appended.

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 4 – 8.