Review: Puppy for Hanukkah
Puppy for Hanukkah by Nancy Parent, illustrated by the Disney Storybook Art Team Little Golden Books (imprint of Random House Disney), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann D. Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org Building on Daveed Digg’s video that went viral last year, Puppy for Hanukkah by Nancy Parent follows a young boy through the eight days of Hanukkah as he enjoys lighting candles, playing dreidel, eating latkes, and tearing open presents. But what he REALLY wants for Hanukkah is a puppy. Will he get one? (Spoiler alert: he does!) The book’s text feels like it has two authors. Excerpts from Digg’s original rap are set in italics, while Parent’s words are set alongside them in roman type. Digg’s words are rhythmic and rappy, while Parent’s words do the heavy lifting of explaining the holiday to the uninitiated: that it’s eight days long, there’s a miracle, and you can eat your latkes with sour cream. What’s most remarkable -even revolutionary- about this deceptively simple Disne