Zigazak! A Magical Hanukkah Night
Is Hanukkah really all about dancing dreidels and high-flying latkes?  Maybe not, but Eric Kimmel and Jon Goodell have put these devilish phenomena to  good use in a lighthearted story that teaches Hanukkah traditions--fromkazatzkasto gelt--along with a wise, timeless moral. The tale's  decidedly unscary antagonists are a couple of bumbling devils determined to  cause Hanukkah-night mischief in the village of Brisk. Goodell's clearly having  fun as he sends five dreidels into a tight little jig, launches latkes around  Hannah Leah's kitchen, and sets off some menorah pyrotechnics in Menachem  Mendel's home. But Brisk's frightened villagers need not worry: they've got a  clever rabbi who's not only unafraid of the devils' antics--he enjoys them! When  dreidels sprout legs and dance on his table, "he laughed and clapped his hands.  'Delightful!' he exclaimed. 'Show me more.'" As with the misadventures of Fat  Albert, kids readingZigazak!should be careful--otherwise, they just  might learn something. And that goes for both Hanukkah minutiae and the wise  rabbi's moral: "Sparks of holiness exist in all things, even in devils' tricks.  And if we look hard enough, we can find the good in all living creatures." (Ages  4 to 8)--Paul Hughes