Chaya M. Burstein

When a tiny orange kitten shows up on his doorstep the first night of Hanukkah, Lenny pleads with his parents to be allowed to keep "Hanukkah Cat." But though they are willing to take the stray in temporarily, because it is cold and snowy out, they insist that another home must be found for her, after the holiday. Can Lenny and Hanukkah Cat convince his parents to let her stay, when the frisky feline seems determined to get into trouble at every opportunity...?

My inability to resist a cute cat story struck again, this past weekend, while walking past my public library's Hanukkah display, and I picked up Chaya Burstein's book, despite thinking that the cover art looked rather unpromising. Unfortunately, my initial response to the illustrations - done by Judy Hanks-Henns in a style that looks distinctly computer generated (and not in an interesting or innovative way) - was only reinforced while reading Hanukkah Cat, and the story itself simply wasn't engaging enough to compensate. I found the combination of pet adoption tale and holiday history, in which Lenny shares the story of the Macabees with Hanukkah Cat, somewhat awkward, and was vaguely annoyed with his parents, and their attitude about cats. The scene in which the mother smacks Hanukkah Cat with a broom, because she has caught a bird, was particularly distressing. Of course, no one wants to have a bird (or mouse) laid at their feet, but cats do hunt, and this is a small kitten, after all - there's no need to keep smacking, even after Hanukkah Cat has dropped the bird. All in all, not a title I would recommend.… (meer)