Today's read... Five Little Dreidels by Jeffrey Burton

It's December 1st!!! Yep, I'm loving the season...not because there's snow on the ground (for a girl who grew up among mountains and snow, not seeing a flake in the Ozarks is so disappointing. Year after year after...) Now, that I got that bitterness out, I've already been baking and have my lights on the tree (ornaments go up today) and plan on visiting our small town's 'Santa's Workshop' this afternoon. Plus, I have tons of holiday reads lined up! I'll be squishing those in-between my Christmas movies....oooo, red and green colored popcorn anyone? And let's not forget the eggnog...and yes, I add to that and have other cozy-warm drinks in store.

Anyway, today's read hits Chanukah with the ever-loved dreidel spinning. I found the characters on the front of this little board book adorable and oh-so-cheerful! 

FIVE LITTLE DREIDELS

by Jeffrey Burton

Illustrated by Juliana Motzko

Little Simon

Board Book / Holiday

14 pages

ages 2 to 5

Celebrate the holiday season with this festive Chanukah board book that’s a twist on the popular nursery rhyme “Five Little Monkeys!”

Five little dreidels spinning all around.
One got dizzy and then fell down.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more dreidels spinning all around.

A Chanukah twist on “Five Little Monkeys”, little ones will love following five little dreidels on a fun-filled adventure.

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 MY TIDBITS

Tons of personality and energy beam from these spinning dreidels as they turn out an original version of 'Five Little Monkeys' in Chanukah style.

This is a solid, little board book, which is just right for those smaller hands. It should hold up fine to 

a little abuse and is no problem to wipe-off, when those sugary, sticky fingers get ahold of it. It circles around the well-known, children's rhyme, 'Five Little Monkeys', making it recognizable and something that slightly older listeners might be able to join in on with a little time...if nothing else, the repeated refrain is a definite grabber.

The illustrations are bright and super cheerful. The little dreidels go from one place to another, slowly loosing one member each time. Each of these locations is very recognizable for young listeners and simple (meaning there are just enough details to make everything clear without adding too much to draw any attention away from the dreidels). There are easy-to-identify Chanukah symbols in the background, keeping the atmosphere in that direction. 

The text is printed clearly enough to make it no problem to read and carries a little swing. There's a little bubble with a mom-dreidel and another below it for a doctor dreidel on the very right side of each spread to fit those parts of the verse, while still keeping the main spinners at the forefront. The wording is great for the intended age group and is fun to see how it slides into the monkey format. The last phrase of the doctor doesn't follow the same rhyme-scheme as the original, which does make each one a tad bit awkward for those who know the monkey rhyme well. The younger readers on this one, probably won't notice as much and will be caught up in the fun.

It's a lot of fun and a cute read, which will, no doubt, get that wonderful word 'again' over and over again.

And here they are...

Jeffrey Burton has written several books for children. He lives in New York City with his family.

Juliana Motzko is a Brazilian illustrator that has loved drawing and painting ever since she was a little girl. She’s fascinated by pets and children’s worlds and loves to create cute artwork that touches people’s hearts. After studying in art and pedagogy, she worked as an art teacher.