Chil­dren’s

The Remem­ber­ing Candle

Ali­son Goldberg
Seli­na Alko
By
Paula Chaiken
– February 9, 2026

How do you remem­ber some­one who passed away? For Jews, it is tra­di­tion­al to light a yahrzeit can­dle on the anniver­sary of a death. The Remem­ber­ing Can­dle, writ­ten by Ali­son Gold­berg and illus­trat­ed by Seli­na Alko, shares this cus­tom and many oth­er ways to keep depart­ed loved ones close. This book fills a much-need­ed niche, as young read­ers may be unfa­mil­iar with many of the tra­di­tions, and some care­givers may find it awk­ward to explain or may them­selves be unfa­mil­iar with observances. 

While the can­dle burns, the nar­ra­tor and her fam­i­ly con­nect with the mem­o­ry of her grand­fa­ther with pho­tos, games, favorite foods, music, and sto­ries about him. The book also includes help­ful resources explain­ing Jew­ish tra­di­tions around death and the Jew­ish cal­en­dar in an acces­si­ble man­ner filled with warmth and understanding. 

Seli­na Alko’s beau­ti­ful mixed media illus­tra­tions bring much love, heart, and depth to the sto­ry. This pic­ture book is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed for both par­ents and chil­dren and will be espe­cial­ly appre­ci­at­ed by any­one who has expe­ri­enced a loss.

Paula Chaiken has worked and vol­un­teered in a vari­ety of capac­i­ties in the Jew­ish world — teach­ing in reli­gious school, curat­ing at the Sper­tus Muse­um, and serv­ing on the boards of her JCC and Tem­ple — for more than twen­­ty-five years. The author of I Know Grand­pa (Tim­ber Grove Press, 2015), she also runs a bou­tique pub­lic rela­tions con­sult­ing firm. 

More from Paula Chaiken
death & mourning
chil­dren’s literature
grand­par­ents

Discussion Questions

The Remem­ber­ing Can­dle, writ­ten by Ali­son Gold­berg and illus­trat­ed by Seli­na Alko, is a pic­ture book that invites read­ers into a child’s explo­ration of the mean­ing of the yahrzeit can­dle, tra­di­tion­al­ly lit to mark the anniver­sary of a loved one’s death. The sto­ry begins as the child’s moth­er intro­duces a spe­cial can­dle that will burn for twen­ty-four hours in mem­o­ry of his grand­fa­ther. Curi­ous about why this can­dle must burn for an entire day, the child embarks on a jour­ney of remem­brance and reflection.

As the can­dle slow­ly melts, the child recalls mem­o­ries of his grand­fa­ther — shar­ing pho­tographs with a younger sib­ling, play­ing a favorite game, and point­ing out a con­stel­la­tion his grand­fa­ther once taught him to find. Through­out the day, he tracks the candle’s progress.

The fol­low­ing day, with the can­dle halfway fin­ished, the child cre­ates a col­lage to hon­or his grand­fa­ther. His aunt vis­its and shares sto­ries, and the child and his moth­er play piano togeth­er, just as his grand­fa­ther once did. After din­ner, in the dark­ness, the candle’s remain­ing light casts shad­ows on the wall, rep­re­sent­ing all that the child has remem­bered and learned.

As the can­dle is final­ly extin­guished, the child under­stands its pur­pose: ​“So that we have time for our mem­o­ries to reach us, and we can con­nect them togeth­er, and keep them shin­ing bright.” The Remem­ber­ing Can­dle, with Seli­na Alko’s beau­ti­ful illus­tra­tions, offers an age-appro­pri­ate way to explore a sub­ject that can often be sad and con­fus­ing for a child.

Related Reading