The Dreidel That Wouldn't Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah

Contrary to what the title says, the dreidel it mentions will spin--it just won't spin for the spoiled, greedy kids who are its first and second owners. Once it's in the hands of a child "of simple means," who understands that "the miracle of Hanukkah truly could not be bought," the dreidel spins "for several minutes, longer than any dreidel they had ever seen." The colorful drawings by Bernhard (Never Say a Mean Word Again) evoke Judaism's Eastern European past, but overwriting by Simpson, a children's librarian as well as author (What NOT to Give Your Mom on Mother's Day), tends to swamp the otherwise nifty premise. Ages 5-up. Illustrator's agent: Ronnie Ann Herman, Herman Agency. (Oct.)

K-Gr 2--In this gentle parable, a peddler gives a splendorous Hanukkah dreidel to the greedy owner of a toy shop with the admonishment that ."..the miracle of Hanukkah cannot be bought." In turn, the shopkeeper sells the one-of-a-kind dreidel to a wealthy man at a substantial price, but the next day the man and his spoiled daughter return it, demanding their money back because the dreidel will not spin. A similar scenario ensues with a mother and son who have the same complaint, yet the shopkeeper finds that he can spin the dreidel without trouble. Confused, he puts it away, until a poor man and his son enter the shop, content simply to look at all the wonderful toys. Moved by their humble and gracious manner, the shopkeeper hands the dreidel to the boy, who is able to twirl it for several minutes, causing the message on it to transform from the traditional "A great miracle happened there" to "A small miracle happened here." Folkloric watercolor illustrations in a pale palette are appropriately soft in tone while images of the toys offering their own expressive impressions of the goings-on inject a bit of humor. A lovely choice for those wishing to circumvent the more commercial aspects of the holiday.--Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library