Nonna’s Hanukkah Surprise

Rachel and her family celebrate Hanukkah, but this holiday season finds them visiting Rachel’s Italian paternal grandmother, who celebrates Christmas. Will one holiday upstage the other? Rachel feels better knowing that she’s bringing her new menorah, which is decorated with nine shielding-bearing female Maccabees. When the menorah is accidentally left on the plane, Rachel is sure that Hanukkah is ruined, but Nonna proves that family ties, open hearts, good food, and a homemade menorah (made from Nonna’s impressive collection of cut-glass perfume bottles) can make the holidays special for everyone. The idea of two exuberant cultures uniting for two very different holidays has lots of potential, and Avilés’s angular illustrations exude reassuring familial warmth. But Fisman’s story feels unnecessarily complicated, and Nonna winds up as more of a deus ex machina than a fully realized character. Ages 3–8. (Sept.)