poetry friday: Hanukkah Lights

Hanukkah Lights edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by Melanie Hall. HarperCollins, 2004 (0-06-008051-5) $15.99; (978-0-06-008053-2) $3.99 pb

This delightful collection of short Hanukkah poems manages to be both simple enough for beginning readers and meaningful enough for readers of any age. Here, in addition to tributes to the familiar pleasure of the holiday--"Latkes for my friends./Latkes for my aunts./Latkes for my uncles./Latke batter on my pants!"--are poems that remind us that Hanukkah is about a light that "outshines darkness." The poems are placed amidst informal scenes in pastels, a gentle backdrop for the affecting words. (4-8)