Review: Yitzi and the Giant Menorah

Yitzi and the Giant Menorah by Richard Ungar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Yitzi and the Giant Menorah” is an absolutely gorgeous book. It is Illustrated with watercolor monoprints, both color and black and white. The pages could be framed and placed on the wall, they are so eye catching. If you look carefully at the coloured illustrations, you can find animals and objects hidden within them. The story is also beautiful and engaging.

In this story, the Mayor of Lublin gives a giant Menorah to the village of Chelm. It is beautiful and each night they light another candle. When the people of Chelm try to come up with ideas of how to thank the Mayor of Lublin, they keep getting diverted and none of their gifts make it. On the final night of Hannukah, Yitzi comes up with a meaningful, appropriate, and perfect way to give thanks. This is the lesson of the book: that saying “thank you” doesn’t always require material goods or fancy gestures.

This is a beautiful book that can add to children’s knowledge of other cultures as well as learning about heartfelt thank-yous. The author included a short history of how Hanukkah came to be and why it is celebrated. Throughout the story we learn some of the traditions of this holiday such as dreidels, the menorah and latkes.

This book would be a welcome addition to holiday libraries in homes, schools, public libraries and houses of worship.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Flee, Fly, Flown

Flee, Fly, Flown by Janet Hepburn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meet Audrey and Lillian, two ladies with alzheimers who feel like prisoners living at "Tranquil Meadows" nursing home on the locked floor. Lillian hatches a plan that they need to escape and go on vacation without telling anyone. They get their hands on scissors to cut off the arm bands that monitor their whereabouts, get their hands on a car (Lillian kept a set of keys to her car when it was sold to the neighbour boy), get some cash and head off. Lillian is not the best of drivers, so when they meet a nice, young man, Audrey is able to convince him to drive them to B.C. where his home is. It takes a day or two, but "Rayne" finally figures out these are not just two nice old ladies on vacation, there is definitely something wrong with them, and so the fun begins. When they do not want to get caught they decide to call themselves Lucy and Ethel, of course the youngsters they meet do not realize the irony of that. They become like a little family complete with a dog they find along the way. They share information about their lives with one another in between their stops, overnight stays and funny situations.

This is a great road trip story. We gain some insights to the world of dementia as well as the life of someone living in a nursing home that really does not want to be there. We also gain some perspective on the struggles of someone young trying to make their way in the world. The pain and anguish Lillian's family must go through not knowing where she is or if she is hurt was apparent in the brief glimpses with phone calls.

This story gives us an appreciation of what it is like to get older and lose some of your faculties. It also reminds us to be gentle and kind to others, do what you can to help them and sometimes it is important to slow down, admire your surroundings and take a vacation.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Homeschooling Can Be Murder

Homeschooling Can Be Murder by Susan Lyttek
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jeanine, "Neenie" as her husband calls her, is an army wife. Being an army wife means moving often, but this time, Jeanine is reluctant to upend her children from the town they have been in for the past few years. Her children and family are so involved in the community, that when her husband gets orders to move she sends him on to look for a house without her. He finds the house of their dreams, her says, but forgets one detail, it's next to a civil war graveyard. Jeanine does NOT like being next to a graveyard, in fact her father mentions her aversion to cemeteries at one point in the story. Adding to Jeanine's frustration is the fact that James, her husband, is sent out of town for training almost right after they arrive and move into the new house. Normally you would expect a graveyard to be quiet, but not this one. At night, there are lots of noises and lights floating around that scare her, the dog and the kids. The next morning she lets the dog out to do his business and finds the gate open. Jelly, the slobbering bulldog, heads off into the cemetery and when Jeanine reluctantly goes after him she finds him guarding a dead body. Only this one is not buried, he is newly dead. Can they solve the mystery of the dead man? What is causing the moaning and the lights at night? Jeanine and the kids find themselves in the midst of a great mystery involving treasure hunters and town secrets.

This was a relatively quick read. It is definitely a Christian story as the characters pray, attend church, etc. as a major part of the storyline. There were some instances of misuse of pronouns as well as omitted words. One thing I noticed which always bothers me, is the use of "on accident" instead of "by accident". I guess they just slipped through, but I expect published works to be more flawless.

I did enjoy the story and the characters, especially the children and the Folgers, the people they bought the house from. There are two more books in this series that I will need to check out.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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