Eight Sweet Nights, a Festival of Lights

July 29, 2024
A family heads to visit loved ones for Hanukkah at a home where “loving arms scoop you up” and homespun festivities await. The large gathering of individuals, portrayed with varying skin tones, contributes to cooking cherished recipes for latkes and sufganiyot, before the kids add a recipe of their own to a treasury: “Sticky marshmallows and melty kisses spin into sweet candy dreidels.” The events are cartooned by Halberstadt with crisp lines, warm colors, and a cheery energy, and chronicled by Offsay in two voices. One, poetic, drives the narrative (“Candles dance./ Crumbs and wrapping paper fly”), while callouts on each spread briefly detail customs, terms, and historical background (“Maccabees were brave Jewish warriors who defeated King Antiochus”). It’s an amiable overview that underlines how the holiday’s “light never really fades.// It keeps burning bright inside you./ All year long.” Ages 3–7.