Amazon made a dramatic push into the children’s literature market today, acquiring 450 titles from Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books. The press release hinted at upcoming expansion into “into picture books, chapter books and Young Adult novels.”
The list of acquired titles included Three Little Tamales by Eric A. Kimmel, “Chalk” by Bill Thomson and My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson.
Amazon Publishing, East Coast Group publisher Laurence Kirshbaum had this statement: “Under the guidance of Margery Cuyler, the Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books team has done an incredible job of building a contemporary and beautifully presented list of books … We look forward to working with these respected authors and illustrators. We will continue to publish these books in their handsome print editions and we think customers will love reading these books — most of them never available before digitally — with their families, using the brilliant color touchscreen on the Kindle Fire.”
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Since his first book, The Tartar’s Sword, came out in 1974, Eric A. Kimmel has published over one hundred titles, many of them winners of such prestigious awards as the the Caldecott Medal, the Sydney Taylor Award, and the National Jewish Book Award (which he won twice–first for The Chanukkah Guest, then again for The Mysterious Guests), as well as numerous state children's choice awards. He is
Kimmel, Eric A. When Mindy Saved Hanukkah. Illus. by Barbara McClintock. Scholastic, 1998.
Can children ever get enough of stories with small heroes? Of Kimmel’s many finely crafted picture books, this is one of his best. Mindy and the rest of the Klein family live behind the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue in New York. When resourceful Papa goes on his quest for a candle they can melt into tiny candles for their menorah, he meets with near-disaster. “A fierce Antiochus of a cat” pounces on him. Leave it to brave little Mindy to save the day! A huge part of the fun of this exciting story is Barbara McClintock’s humorous, detailed ink and watercolor paintings, evoking century-old styles and interesting aspects of this historic synagogue. I can’t imagine a more enjoyable way for children to discover the reasons for Hanukkah.
More Great Hanukkah Read-alouds
da Costa, Deborah. Hanukkah Moon. Kar-Ben, 2007. “At Aunt Luisa’s you ll get to celebrate the Hanukkah Moon,” Isobel’s father promises. This likable picture book centers on Hanukkah customs with a Latina twist.
Kimmel, Eric. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. Holiday House, 1994. Hershel of Ostropol arrives at a village where the people can’t celebrate Hanukkah because their synagogue has been overtaken by goblins. Hershel is brave and bright enough to outwit those goblins, though, in this thrilling story brought to life by Trina Schart Hyman’s spooky illustrations, which won a Caldecott Honor.
Krensky, Stephen. Hanukkah at Valley Forge. Dutton, 2006. This engaging story features a young Jewish soldier explaining Hanukkah to George Washington. Atmospheric watercolor paintings evoke the contrast between the cold Pennsylvania winter and the soldier’s glowing candlelight.
Kroll, Stephen. The Hanukkah Mice. Marshall Cavendish, 2008. A girl’s new dollhouse is the perfect place for a family of mice to celebrate Hanukkah.
Manushkin, Fran. Hooray for Hanukkah! Random House, 2001. “I am bright, but I could be brighter!” Hear the story of Hanukkah from the perspective of the menorah in this charming book for young children.
Polacco, Patricia. Trees of the Dancing Goats. Simon & Schuster, 1996. 
Based on the author’s childhood, Polacco shows how Trisha and her family prepare to celebrate Hanukkah. When Trisha visits her neighbors, she finds them bedridden with scarlet fever instead of decorating for Christmas. Then Grampa comes up with a surprising way to cheer up their neighbors. The plan involves a lot of work and even sacrifice, but it will make for a holiday for all to cherish.
Rosen, Michael J. Elijah’s Angel: A Story of Chanukah and Christmas. Harcourt, 1992. Touching story of a friendship between nine-year-old Michael and the elderly African-American Elijah, who gives the boy one of his carved wooden angels. Should a Jewish child keep such a gift?
Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Power of Light: Eight Stories for
Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale
By Eric A. Kimmel
Illustrated by Omar Rayyan
Marshall Cavendish
$17.99
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5599-8
Ages 4-8
On shelves now
There was a time, best beloved, when folktales and fairytales were common. Every other season they filled the publishers’ lists and librarians bought such books in droves. My own library’s children’s room contains a large and impressive folktale section, where parents can grab anything from your standard Snow White tale to perhaps a lesser known story like Anansi and the Moss-covered Rock. That particular folktale, by the way, is by one Eric A. Kimmel, a man who has spent much of his life finding and retelling classic folktales from a variety of different cultures for the American audience. Sadly, I estimate that in 2010 the number of folktales published for kids will, if we’re lucky, come to about ten. Max. And of those ten, how many will be any good? Well, at the very least you can count on Joha Makes a Wish. Adapted by the aforementioned Mr. Kimmel and illustrated by the too-little-known Omar Rayyan, Joha is one of those stories that remind you why we like folktales so much in the first place. They amuse, they inform, and they give us glimpses into cultures other than our own. In this particular case, the Middle East.
On a trip to Baghdad our hero Joha attempts to take a nap against an ancient wall. This doesn’t go so well, though, when the wall collapses behind him, revealing a stick and a scroll that proclaims, “You have found a wishing stick.” Delighted, Joha wishes for new shoes, only to find his old ones gone. A wish for the stick to disappear glues it to his hand. A wish to ride a donkey finds him carrying the animal instead. And you can pretty much guess what happens when he attempts to remove the sultan’s wart. After an encounter with a clever merchant the two realize that he’s been holding the stick upside down. Joha returns to the sultan to remove the copious warts, then finds his stick co-opted by the greedy ruler. Riding a small donkey away at the end, Joha speculates whether or not he should have told the sultan how to use the stick. In the end, it’s evident that he did not.
In his Author’s Note at the start of the book, Kimmel explains a little bit about your classic Joha tale. Joha’s a fool character, much like Jack in European tales. Kimmel ties him into a couple other characters, including Sancho Panza, suggesting that Cervantes got the idea for Sancho when he heard the Joha stories that circulated when he was in a Turkish prison. In Jewish tales, your fool character is either a schlemiel or a schlimazel. In this particular story, Joha is clearly on the schlimazel side of things. He’s a victim, until he can take charge of his problem and then foist it onto someone else. You sympathize with the guy, but at the same time there’s a certain bit of schadenfreude watching him carrying a donkey or fleeing from the authorities on foot.
I have always admired Eric Kimmel's work, and now I admire him for being honest about staying in his pajamas and writing in fits and spurts. I recently referred on my blog to his beautiful book of stories for the High Holidays (see footnote #2)http://she-answers-abraham.blogspot.com/2011/10/when-prayers-go-unanswered.html<br /><br />Thank you for posting this interview, Tziporah
Always interesting to read about writers whose process is so different from mine. But it still all boils down to the same basic elements. Think. Write. Let go. Rewrite. Repeat.<br /><br />Thanks, Bruce and Eric!