Teaching children gratitude: Yitzi and the Giant Menorah

This is not a book about Hanukah, but about being grateful and thankful for the gifts we are given and, in general, for good things that are happening to us. Aimed for preschool and first grade children, this very beautifully illustrated work of writing tells a story taking place in the famous - for the Jewish world - village of Chelm, in Poland. This place was known for the less gifted minds of its citizens, but being intelligent does not make you automatically a better human. The - Jewish - mayor of  Lublin sent to the people of Chelm a giant menorah for Hanukah, and they were all the time thereafter trying to find solutions about what to send him in exchange. At the beginning, they are not very lucky about that: the delicious latkes made by Rivka the Cook are eaten before delivery, the giant ice is melting. Finally, they decide about something more symbolic: they all get together and lit the menorah, with all the beautiful lights reaching as far as Lublin, where the mayor was invited to watch the gratitude show from a hill. This was the most beautiful gift, worth all the material presents because it magnified the gesture creating a bigger, majestic effect. And this is the essence of the holiday of Hanukah, to be grateful for the wonderful small things that happened to us.

This book can be used as the starting point of a long discussion about gratitude and interacting with the others peers, either at home or at school. The language is simple, and the illustrations are inspiring - either colourful, with a Chagall touch, or very strong black graphics.
At the end of the book, the holiday of Hanuka is explained at length.

The author, Richard Ungar, is an artist with a lawyer background that authored and illustrated many books, including a series based in Chelm.
The book will be available on Amazon beginning of September, which makes it a great gift for the Rosh Hashana or Hanuka.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.com, in exchange of an honest review.