The Golden Dreidel by Ellen Kushner
Reviewed By: Chelsea Bunton, Youth Services Assistant
Genre: Fantasy, Holiday
Suggested Age: Children (7-10)
What is This Book About? Sara is a Jewish middle-schooler who is feeling a little burned out on the Hanukkah festivities this year- even begging her mother for an evergreen for their living room so she can feel like the other kids on her block. Reluctantly, she accompanies her family to their annual Hannukah party where she and her cousins hunt for chocolate gold coins which they then use in a game of dreidels. Sara finds no joy in the festivities and gives up on the game just as a mysterious guest arrives with gifts for the children. Though everyone receives their desired gift- Sara instead is given a golden dreidel. Little does she know that the dreidel is not what it seems. Instead of a piece to a children’s game, it is a key to a magical world where Sara will learn of her heritage and some deeper meaning behind the spinning-top holiday game.
My Review: This book was a fun, quick read. I always enjoy learning about other cultures and religions, so I found the biblical characters very interesting as Sara came across them in the magical world. I like that the book focused on the dreidel game as I didn’t really know much about it beforehand. I always thought they were just spinning-tops, and didn’t realize there was a whole game involved! This book was very much like a Jewish rendition of Alice in Wonderland- Sara finds herself slipping into another world quite by accident and is introduced to various outlandish characters on her journey. Sara is comparable to Alice as she uncovers an inner confidence and understanding of her home-world while on her quest to rescue the “dreidel” (I won’t spoil what the dreidel actually is!)
Three Words that Describe this Book: Magical, seasonal, cautionary
Give this a try if you like…Magical worlds, learning about religious cultures, The Magical Reality of Nadia by Bassem Youssef and Catherine R. Daly, Magic Treehouse series
Rating: 3.5/5
