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. [em]Illustrator’s agent: Ronnie Ann Herman, Herman Agency. (Oct.) [/em]