Notes from the Lampert Library
How many Jewish themed stories go mainstream? Not too many, but one has become a modern classic and has even earned a Caldecott Honor Medal.
Folklorist and writer Eric A. Kimmel set out to write an exciting Hanukkah story as good as any book for children. Using some traditional Jewish themes mixed with folklore, Kimmel created Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, a tense tale featuring a series of goblins, each more scary than the one before.
Any guesses as to how many goblins are in the story?
Ironically no Jewish editor back in the early 1980s would touch the story: it was too different. Consequently it was first published in the well-known children’s literary magazine Cricket with illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman, a noted children’s book illustrator.
Hyman was so impressed by Kimmel’s story that she approached Holiday House ad suggested that the firm publish Hershel as a freestanding book and let her illustrate it. Hyman had drawn many princes and princesses and damsels in distress during her distinguished career as an illustrator of traditional fairy tales. Goblins presented a new-and welcome- challenge.
It’s been twenty-five years since Hershel first hit the bookstores, libraries and children’s eyes and ears. It still enthralls kids as they listen wide-eyed to see if Hershel is able to withstand the goblins’ force and light all eight Hanukkah candles. To celebrate the milestone of this story, KImmel has written an introduction to a new edition. Hyman died in 2004 so the anniversary edition was left much as it was originally. Says Mary Cash of Holiday House, “It was perfect the way it was.”
Another of Kimmel’s Hanukkah books has been reissued but this time with a
thorough do-over including a title change. The Chanukkah Guest (1990) is a seasonal tale of mistaken identity featuring a nearly blind old lady, a huge shaggy honey-colored bear, and a rabbi with a honey-colored beard and coat. The confusion results in some silliness as the bear devours latkes in Bubbe Bryna’s kitchen and she remains clueless.
The new edition, called Hanukkah Bear, has cheerful cartoon style acrylic illustrations that emit a golden glow. The book is softer with a shorter text and a younger look. But the humor is still there.
Whichever way you read them, these books and others by Eric A. Kimmel
including When Mindy Saved Hanukkah and the brand new Simon and the Bear: a Hanukkah tale give us a taste of Hanukkah-or Chanukkah- spirit and show that books with Jewish themes can exist in the mainstream and can be enjoyed by children of all backgrounds.
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