Category Archives: Holidays

Happy Hanukkah! Some Jewish Children’s Picture Books

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Seeing as the “Festival of Lights” is upon us (tonight will be the sixth night after all) we thought we might showcase some children’s books about Hanukkah. As you will see, authors and illustrators approach the story and its traditions in many different ways.

american covers

Cotsen: 7385, 11832, 43355 respectively

The first Hanukkah book, Happy Hanukah Everybody (New York: United Synagogue Commission on Jewish Education, 1955), is notable as an early example of Maurice Sendak’s illustrations. Written by Rabbi Hyman Chanover and his wife Alice Chanover, this book tells the story of one family’s typical first night and Hanukkah traditions.

7385spread[1-2]

Spread [1-2], 7385

A very Sendakian orange lion decoration. spread [5-6], 7385

7385page[11]

A very didactic inclusion of sheet music and transliterated lyrics for the Hanukkah berakhah (blessing). page [11], 7385

7385page[22]

What first night of Hanukkah would be complete without a new kitten? page [22], 7385

The next book, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (New York : Holiday House, c1989) was a Caldecott winner written by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. The story centers around a wanderer named Hershel of Ostropol (based on the historical folk-hero prankster) who outsmarts a group of goblins haunting a synagogue and preventing the locals from celebrating Hanukkah.

page [3], 11832

11832

Hershel tricks a goblin by tweaking the rules of the dreidel game spread [14-15], 11832

11832

spread [18-19], 11832

11832page[23]

Hershel facing down the Goblin King. page [23], 11832

The next book is . . . interesting. I chose to include it in this post because of its singular focus and peculiarities. The KvetchiT : a Hanukkah tale, was written by Larry Butchins  and illustrated by Celia Yitzchak (St. Helier, Jersey : Pitspopany, c1994). Published on the English channel island of Jersey, the story centers around the miraculous birth of a creature who feeds on kvetches (gripes and complaints). The KvetchiT has been around ever since the Maccabees complained that there wasn’t a lot of oil in the Holy Temple to light the menorah (though it miraculously burned for eight days). For better or worse, we do not have the cassette tape of the The 20 greatest kvetches ever told! indicated on the front cover of the book.

43355page[2]

page [2], 43355

43355page[5]

page [5], 43355

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page [6], 43355

43355page[12]

page [12], 43355

43355page[22]

page [22], 43355

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spread [25-26], 43355

The Cotsen collection boasts hundreds of books, pamphlets, toys, and games about or related to the Jewish culture and people, mostly from the 20th century. We hold over 700 titles in Hebrew and Yiddish (in Hebrew script), but many of our books related to Judaism are also in English and German.

Only one of these Hebrew language books, however, seems to be related to Hanukkah. La-sevivon (translating to the dreidel, which is actually a Yiddish word), by Salman Schneur, is a story about a silver dreidel who goes on an adventure to gather Hanukkah gelt (and in this case real gold coins) and meets a sapient goat along the way (Frankfurt am Main: Hotz’at Omonut; 1922):

front wrapper, 50019

front wrapper, 50019

50019page[5]

page [5], 50019

50019page[7]

Here our studious goat is distracted from studying the Chumash (book form of the Torah) by our dreidel hero. page [7], 50019

page [9], 50019

page [9], 50019

Notably, our holdings of Hanukkah books are mostly English language and published in the US. We have around twenty American books related to Hanukkah, while I could locate only one Hanukkah book in Hebrew (though it has been a very long time since I went to Hebrew school). This collections bias might reflect the importance of the holiday as a particularly Jewish-American tradition (there were simply more American books about Hanukkah for Mr. Cotsen to collect). As a seasonal companion to Christmas, and the very American culture of. . . gift giving. . . surrounding the winter holidays, Hanukkah enjoys a lot of attention in the US. But like the typical American Christmas, the holiday is mostly observed at home and with the family. Since most Jewish families don’t huddle around a fire and read Maccabees 1-2 (these books are actually non-canonical in Judaism), children’s books about Hanukkah provide a useful vehicle for transmitting the story and passing on the holiday traditions.

In locating books for this blog post I also noticed one tradition that my family shares with the Cotsen family: the tradition of giving books!

Cotsen Family Bookplate, free endpaper verso, 10320

Cotsen Family bookplate, free endpaper verso, 10320

Happy Holidays everyone!

To learn more about the book La Sevivon and the history and odyssian migration of the Hebrew language publisher Omonut, check out this blog post from the Library of Congress: From Russia With Love: Illustrated Children’s Books in Hebrew

“The best Thanksgiving ever:” A 1920s Celebration

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football turkey

The connection between football and Thanksgiving seems to go way back…

On November 28,1926, Marcus sent his big sister Eleanor a report on Thanksgiving back home.   He thought it was “The best Thanksgiving I ever had” even though “I didn’t get enough turkey.”  It wasn’t having the dressing, sides, or pies in the cement house that made the holiday so special that year.  The real reason?

  “I WENT TO THE MOVIES 2 on THANKSGIVING.”

(The “2” is short for “twice.”)

mfrenchpage[1]

After the holiday feast the family went to the Strand Theater to see “Rin Tin Tin: The Hero of the Big Snows,” which Marcus said was “dandy.” He’d seen at least one other film starring the German shepherd war hero and star of the silver screen.

hero of the big snowsAfter this stirring yarn, in which Rinty saves a child from a vicious black wolf, it was time for something completely different, the “funny picture.”  Marcus doesn’t give the title but does mention that it starred Harold Lloyd.  According to Marcus, “the goofiest picture I ever saw.”  mfrenchpage[2]Maybe the “funny picture” Marcus saw was the full-length silent, “For Heaven’s Sake,”  the only movie Lloyd released that year.  This chase sequence is pretty goofy, by all objective standards.  harold lloyd heavensThe family went to supper before heading off to the Rialto (the theater’s façade still exists in New Amsterdam) to take in a vaudeville show and another unidentified “goofy picture.”   Marcus had more important things to share with Eleanor than details about his third picture show of the day, like his preliminary Christmas list.mfrenchpage[3]He promised to send his big sister an updated and expanded list soon instead of asking what SHE might like from Santa.  I was able to find pictures of some of the things Marcus coveted.  Here’s an advertisement for the major manufacturer of bicycle cyclometers:

vreeder odometer

The manufacturer’s jingle for this product line was “It’s nice to know how far you go.”

And this might be pretty close to the basketball and the cover on the list:vintage-basketball-carrierAfter some perfunctory chat about the weather, Marcus closed with the Pathe News, this time a seasonal story in two frames, written and illustrated by himself: mfrenchpage[4]Is this graphic depiction of a turkey’s slaughter and consumption a sign that Marcus was a budding sociopath?  Probably not.  These contemporary Thanksgiving greeting cards send the message that Americans were a whole lot more matter of fact and a whole lot less squeamish than we are when it comes to meat-eating…

Marcus also wrote about his adventures trick-or-treating and his battles with the algebra teacher.   Just as amusing is The Flapper’s Magazette by Miss Vivie Wivie…

boy ax turkeyturkey boy knifeSo enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, whether you are finishing off leftovers from the bird or that tasty vegan mushroom gravy…

Holiday greetings from Team Cotsen

Andrea, Dana, Ellen, Ian, Jeff, Marissa, Minjie, Miranda, and Miriam

archimboldo thanksgiving