4 stars
I have to say, it’s pretty impressive just how split the reviews are on this book.
Let’s start with the obvious: the illustrations are pure magic. McWilliam did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. I loved all the colors and details in each image. It really brought the story to life.
Now on to the meat of the review. This book is not for everyone. As much as it tries to bring people together, there are people it’s destined to fail at connecting with. I do not think people with very strict Jewish beliefs will identify with this. That seems to be where much of the anger about this book stems from. If you fall into that category, it is perfectly fine to just skip this one.
However, for those looking to to learn about the basics of Hanukkah or Jewish children who want a little bit of the Santa magic in their traditions, this is a fantastic book. At this point, Christmas isn’t just a religious holiday, but a cultural one. Even those who do not follow the religious beliefs of Christmas celebrate it. This is the mindset of this book. It does not include any of the religious elements of Christmas. It’s all about Santa, elves, and reindeer bringing joy.
Many of the reviews seem to take offense at Santa and Shmelf’s desire to make Hanukkah better as though it is not as good as Christmas. However, I didn’t take away that at all from the narrative. The book is about Shmelf leaning in to Hanukkah traditions and doing what he can to make sure things run smoothly (ensuring latkes are crispy, influencing a certain to dreidel win, etc.).
The book blends the idea of Santa and elves with Hanukkah traditions so that Jewish children don’t feel left out in the cultural storm of Santa images. In that way, this book is adorably sweet.
In Wolfe’s bio, he’s described as having been “raised a nice Jewish boy, who happened to also be a true believer in Santa, elves, and flying reindeer” who wrote this book for his son “to prove that Santa believes in him too”. In that way, Wolfe achieves something magical. Bridging the gap between Hanukkah and the cultural idea of Christmas. He doesn’t say Hanukkah is bad or needs to be improved, just giving space for children to feel included in all the images of Santa and elves that bombard them every year.
Such a sweet story. Bonus points for the lovely rhyming text. Certainly not for everyone, but it succeeds at providing a space for blending Christmas traditions into Hanukkah for those who are open to them.