Hanukkah Upside Down: A Picture Book

by Elissa Brent Weissman, Omer Hoffmann (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

One of the most creative, fun Hanukkah stories we've seen in centuries. Hanukkah Upside Down spotlights the fun and varying traditions for celebrating Hanukkah all over the world. You'll buy this for Hanukkah, but you'll read it over and over again.

In this award-winning, delightfully upside-down picture book holiday story, cousins from opposite sides of the globe debate who can celebrate the best Hanukkah. Eight chances to prove it—may the best cousin win!

“You’ll have Hanukkah in summer? Talk about backwards.”
“Your Hanukkah’s in winter? You’re missing out.”

From their homes in New York and New Zealand, cousins Noah and Nora decide to have a competition. Winter versus summer: Who can have the world’s best Hanukkah? But as the eight nights of Hanukkah go on, the contest proves tougher than they imagined. Even as each cousin celebrates the holiday with their own unique traditions, they realize they have more in common than they thought.

A warm, witty holiday story from acclaimed award-winning creators Elissa Brent Weissman and Omer Hoffmann, Hanukkah Upside Down shows that while there are countless ways to celebrate Hanukkah, family is what matters most.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419762963
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	13,591
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Elissa Brent Weissman is the author of many books for young readers, including The Renegade Reporters, The Length of a String, and the Nerd Camp series. She grew up on Long Island in New York and now lives on the South Island of New Zealand, where her birthday is in spring rather than fall.
Omer Hoffmann is an illustrator and comics artist. He has illustrated 10 published children’s books, lots of comics, numerous advertisement campaigns, and dozens of editorials. He likes drawing funny and humorous pieces. He also likes coffee. He lives in Givatayim, Israel, with his wife, Maia, and their daughter, Zoe, and son, Lenny.

Editorial Reviews

08/28/2023

Noah and his family live in New York City; his cousin Nora and her family live in Aotearoa, New Zealand. In frequent phone calls, the two pale-skinned kids compare seasonal differences between their respective hemispheres; as they do, they love arguing about “which one of them was upside down,” Weissman writes. Hanukkah ups the ante on their friendly rivalry: is the holiday better in the winter or the summer? As they engage in activities (hot chocolate and snowballs vs. hot chips and cannonballs) and post photos to a shared album, Hoffman’s jaunty, editorial-style cartoons show two kids who brim with individual confidence and who come to realize, through the nightly Hanukkah rituals, how much they share. This includes gratitude for “great miracles, then and now and all around,” and a faith and traditions that transcend time zones and geography, making the world feel “right side up” no matter where they stand. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

***STARRED REVIEW***
Any library looking for Hanukkah books will want to add this unique international tale to their collection.—School Library Journal

"This includes gratitude for “great miracles, then and now and all around,” and a faith and traditions that transcend time zones and geography, making the world feel “right side up” no matter where they stand."—Publishers Weekly

"Digitally assembled pencil, charcoal, and brush and ink illustrations play up the humor competition."—The Horn Book Magazine

"A reminder that holiday celebrations are fun, no matter when, no matter where."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

"Digitally assembled pencil, charcoal, and brush and ink illustrations play up the humor competition."

The Horn Book Magazine

★ 09/01/2023

PreS-Gr 2—This clever offering tells the story of two cousins on opposite sides of the world celebrating Hanukkah together and apart. Noah lives in New York, his cousin Nora lives in New Zealand, and they love to argue about which of them is upside down. They decide to have a photo contest about which Hanukkah is better. The story follows them as they do parallel but opposite things, yet celebrate the nights of Hanukkah in similar ways. Finally, each receives a present from the other: a shirt with "World's Best Cousin" printed upside down. The text and pictures weave together neatly. Using spot art, they each do something location appropriate (Noah has hot chocolate, Nora has hot chips), and then, integrated into the same spread, the same Hanukkah-related thing (eating sufganiyot). Appealing and accessible text is clear and deft, with nary a wasted word. The art is wonderful. Characters have shaggy hair and a Quentin Blake feel to them. The protagonists have light skin; Nora's father's has brown skin. Hoffmann fills the pages with movement, masterfully depicting the scenes with Noah and Nora doing the same thing by simply splitting pages in half so that they merge into each other, while using a cool palette for New York and a warm one for New Zealand. While the Hanukkah story is not explained, all the traditions are included. VERDICT Any library looking for Hanukkah books will want to add this unique international tale to their collection.—Amy Lilien-Harper

School Library Journal

2023-10-07
Two Jewish children on opposite sides of the globe celebrate Hanukkah.

Noah’s a New Yorker; cousin Nora’s a New Zealander. On phone chats, they compare time differences: When Noah eats Saturday dinner, Nora eats Sunday lunch; while Noah’s school is closed for winter break, Nora’s school is gearing up for summer. What’s alike? Hanukkah’s coming; each child has mailed the other a present. They hold a competition: “Winter vs. Summer! Who can have the world’s best Hanukkah?” As usual, lifestyles contrast. Apparel and activities diverge because of seasonal dissimilarities, yet traditions are comparable: menorahs, savories, prayers, dreidels. The cartoony illustrations—created with pencil, charcoal, and brush and ink and then assembled digitally—are lively, and the tale is energetic. Some readers might wish the book had included a map displaying the vast geographic distance between the United States and New Zealand or a discussion of the earth’s hemispheres. Still, it’s an original and fun take on Hanukkah. The book also lacks a glossary and pronunciation guide. Occasionally, undefined words in Hebrew and Maori appear, though most are comprehensible contextually; additionally, a Hebrew prayer is incorporated into an illustration but goes untranslated. Noah, Nora, and their families are light-skinned; background characters are diverse.

A reminder that holiday celebrations are fun, no matter when, no matter where. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews