A Dragon for Hanukkah

Written by Sarah Mlynowski

Illustrated by Ariel Landy

Orchard Books (Scholastic)

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 2024

 

Hanukkah, which is also known as the eight-day Festival of Lights, has many traditions from songs sung, candles lit, and foods eaten. But for Hannah, this Hanukkah is something especially magical.

From A Dragon for Hanukkah, written by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Ariel Landy

In Hannah's family, a gift is given on each night, and the gifts this child is given and shares are extraordinary. On the first night of Hanukkah, Hannah receives a fire-breathing dragon whom she names Nerry. (Ner in Hebrew means candle, lamp, or light.) On the second night, her Bubbie (Yiddish for grandmother) gifts her with a rainbow! A treasure chest of gold coins and gems are a gift from her aunt on the third night of Hanukkah while the fourth night sees Hannah receiving a merry-go-round.

From A Dragon for Hanukkah, written by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Ariel Landy

A time machine for the fifth night allows her and her cousin to go back in time and meet the Maccabees while the rocket boots she gets on the sixth night takes Hannah among the stars. On the seventh night, Hannah gets three rambunctious unicorns from her little brother. The eighth night is Hannah's turn to give gifts and hers is a tasty treat concocted in a lab.

From A Dragon for Hanukkah, written by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Ariel Landy

Finally, when everyone is arriving and Hannah is tidying up her room, readers see what her gifts really were. There's a stuffed dragon, a box of rainbow-coloured crayons, a dreidel, chocolate "gelt" and more. And her special concoction? It's potato latkes which the family enjoys as they gather to sing, play dreidel, and celebrate together.

From A Dragon for Hanukkah, written by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Ariel Landy

Writer Sarah Mlynowski, whose Whatever After and other series have made her a New York Times best-selling author, makes Hanukkah even more magical through Hannah's imaginative experiences with the gifts she receives for this festival. She includes all the traditions of Hanukkah from the tzedakah box of donated toys to the lighting of the menorah and the retelling of the Maccabees' story. And yet, among all the familiar elements, Sarah Mlynowski has created a story far greater and fantastic and one that evolves from a child's imagination and wonder. For young celebrants of Hanukkah, they will easily pick up on the traditional elements but for those unfamiliar with the Festival of Lights, Sarah Mlynowski appends her story with an informative dialogue between Hannah and Nerry to provide details related to the story. 

 

Illustrator Ariel Landy, an American based in France, brings the whimsy to Sarah Mlynowski's words making each gift and Hannah's delight with them even greater. From the rainbow that flows out of the room and carries Hannah along with it to a trio of spirited unicorns that arise from drawings her younger brother gives her, there is a playfulness that emphasizes the joys of the celebration. Moreover, Ariel Landy's use of brilliant colours like purples and pinks, lime green and blues make the story sparkle and fresh.

From A Dragon for Hanukkah, written by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Ariel Landy

Perhaps not every child celebrating Hanukkah will receive a dragon or a rainbow but every child who reads A Dragon for Hanukkah will understand the magic that is part of Hannah's celebration. Through the festivities of gift-giving and of traditional food and activity, Sarah Mlynowski and Ariel Landy welcome all readers to a Hanukkah celebration like no other, while teaching them about the festival in an imaginative and colourful way.

I See London, I See France

Written by Sarah Mlynowski

HarperCollins

978-1-44344-317-3

377 pp.

Ages 13+

July 2017

I See London, I See France could be 19-year-old Sydney Rothstein's travel journal but it's more a story of her coming into herself, evolving from doormat and people-pleaser to the protagonist of her own adventure, all within the grand setting of Europe. It's a bumpy road with a lot of switchbacks, drama and tourist attractions and it's worth the ticket price.

This was the summer trip to Europe that wasn't supposed to happen, although Sydney and her BFF Leela Veer had been planning on it since they were children.  With Sydney's mom's agoraphobia putting the kibosh on her going to college anywhere but home in Maryland, it looked like Leela was going to end up in Europe with her boyfriend Matt whom she'd met at McGill.  But then Matt kisses some random girl and the two break up and he's supposed to cancel his ticket and Sydney's younger sister Addison agrees, reluctantly, to take on the job of caring for their mother for a month and Sydney finds enough money to go.  So, with Travel Europe guidebook in hand and a cell phone which she only uses with free WiFi, Sydney sets out on her excellent European adventure with her supportive but oft-coddled best friend.

They barely get off the ground when the two American girls learn Matt did not cancel his trip but is instead going to be travelling with his best friend Jackson.  Leela can't help stressing over what Matt is doing and if they're going to bump into the guys (and sometimes making sure they do!) and what she still feels for him.  Being the sensitive friend she is, Sydney goes along with Leela, trying to make sure she has a great time, sacrificing her own needs even while stressing over her sister's casual care-giving of their mother.  And, amidst all that emotional balancing act and visits to London, Amsterdam, Paris and several more planned and unplanned destinations, Sydney starts experiencing her own panic attacks and crushing on Jackson, whom Leela calls a "man whore."

How do you have a mind-blowing European adventures with a friend who vacillates between hating and stalking her ex/boyfriend while worrying about your agoraphobic mother who is being looked after by your sixteen-year-old sister? You put on that bon vivant attitude and keep trying new foods and drinks, seeking out the must-see tourist attractions, kissing some random guys and making sure that your BFF has the spectacular adventure you planned. Fortunately, Sydney finds she can talk to Jackson, even when she isn't supposed to be seeing him, and to her college friend Kat whom the girls visit in Paris and unfortunately whom Leela obviously feels threatens her friendship with Sydney.  It's a whirlwind trip of old and new friends, old and new loves, and food and drink–I think I fixated on the waffles and gelato–and selfies.  What they bring home, beyond the snow globes for Addison, is far more than can fit in their luggage.

There are a lot of teens starting their own European adventures right now, perhaps just for the summer or as part of a gap year.  I See London, I See France will certainly resonate with them as they leave family, friends and romances behind and seek to make new connections and memories, some fleeting, some life-long, along the way.  Sarah Mlynowski, who consistently delights with her entertaining and warm-hearted children's, teen and adult books,  takes on this rite of passage for many young people and creates a story that, even with the stressors of family and friends and decision-making, anyone would be pleased to have as their own.  Of course there's angst, both the kind as a result of others' actions and the self-imposed variety, but there's love and sex and novelty and experiences that go beyond the norm.  It's what a summer should be, at least once in your life. Bon voyage!

Upside-Down Magic

by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins

Scholastic Press

978-0-545-80045-7

208 pp.

Ages 8-12

October, 2015

Self-acceptance has always been an important theme in picture books, middle grade and YA, as it is an issue so many of us grapple with, no matter what age.  But, while Upside-Down Magic does take on this common issue, the book’s quirky take on it is wholly uncommon and delightfully light-hearted.  

Elinor Boxwood Horace, called Nory, is ready for Grade 5 but not sure whether she is quite ready for Sage Academy where her father is headmaster and her older siblings, Hawthorn (16) and Dalia (13), study magic.  She attends the compulsory Big Test, the entrance exam, in which she is tested for being a Flare (those gifted with fire magic), a Flicker (those who control invisibility), a Flyer (as you might expect) and a Fuzzy (those conversant with animals), gifts she knows she does not have, as well as for a Fluxer.  Nory knows she is a Fluxer, one who can transform herself, but her magic often goes wonky.  Sadly but not surprising, Nory’s black kitten transformation actually becomes a dragon-kitten, or dritten as she calls it, and she is denied admission to Sage.

Without her knowledge, her father makes arrangements for her to go and live with her Aunt Margo, a Flyer who works as a taxi (!), and attend the Dunwiddle Magic School, a public magic school with a new program for kids who struggle with magic.  Special education for magic?  It’s called the Upside-Down Magic class or UDM, and it is sneered at by the other students in the school.  Her classmates include Elliott, a neighbourhood Flare whose fire often turns into freezing ice; Andres, a Flyer who would just float away if not tethered or held back by a ceiling; Pepper, an Upside-Down Fuzzy known as a Fierce who terrifies animals rather than communing with them; Sebastian, a Flicker who can’t become invisible but can see invisible sound waves; Willa who can make it rain inside; Marigold who shrinks things; and Bax who Fluxes but only into a rock from which he cannot change back.  Under the tutelage of the inspiring Ms. Starr, who encourages them to understand their feelings, not control them–“Helping you be normal isn’t my job” (pg. 129)–Nory tries to be positive about learning, but the prejudice she and the others endure because of their UDM has her determined to get control of her animal selves and get tested out of the UDM class.

Though her father refuses to contact her and her siblings are convinced she just needs to work harder, Nory is determined to become the child they want her to be, regardless of the warm welcome and acceptance she feels from her aunt, her aunt’s boyfriend and her UDM classmates.  It takes a bit of effort and some unusual situations to help Nory release the notion that she is imperfect and recognize her own giftedness as it is.

Montreal-born Sarah Mlynowski, whose Whatever After and Magic in Manhattan series are wildly popular, has collaborated with Americans Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins (a.k.a. E. Lockhart) to produce another series that is sure to enchant and humour young readers.  It’s delightful escapism for middle-grade readers who want to enjoy a very visual (see Nory’s dritten as imagined on the book cover) story with a completely impossible (improbable?) plot that can still teach about enduring the day-to-day challenges of being different and of family expectations, as well as of prejudice, and learning to accept oneself.  Upside-Down Magic is like a pretty package of life lessons wrapped up in a sparkly plot and decorated with bright characters of magical personalities.