Amye Rosenberg

Melly's Menorah is an adorable book about a little gopher girl whose family celebrates Hanukkah in their new house for the first time. This book allows those of Jewish faith to relate to the story. However, the book does not educate children about Hanukkah however. The text and illustrations touch upon the use of a menorah, a dreidel, and latkes for dinner. The text did not explain the importance or meaning of each related item. If a child was reading this who has not experienced a Jewish holiday before, they would not understand the relevance of the topics. In the back of the book, there is a page of 5 Hanukkah related words. Their definitions or meanings are included but the significance is not. This book offers a very good learning opportunity that includes a minority religion in most areas but did not cater towards children lacking knowledge about Hanukkah. This deficit is the reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.… (meer)

"Melly's Menorah" is a wonderful story that is wrapped around the life of little Melly and her Jewish family getting ready for Hanukkah. The big message for readers is that even though the youngest child may not be able to help with everything, they are still capable of creating and doing very special things. I really enjoyed how Melly went around the house and tried to have fun by herself because each family member was busy. Her brother vacuumed up her Hanukkah cards, her mother was in the bathroom wrapping presents and her Grandmother was in the kitchen baking. I am the youngest in my family and I can relate to exactly how Melly is feeling. All we want to do is help our older siblings and the rest of our family but sometimes we are just in the way. I think the main reason I liked this story was because in the end, after all of the troubles Melly faced during the day, the family came together and celebrated Hanukkah in a peaceful environment. The family was at the table eating all of the delicious food, singing songs and appreciating one another's presence.… (meer)