24 | NOVEMBER 14 • 2019
Jews in the D
Welcome to
Chanu-Con!
C
hanu-Con,
Congregation Beth
Shalom’
s annual
pre-Chanukah event, has been
so successful that two syna-
gogue members have made a
children’
s book about it.
Welcome to Chanu-Con
(Clear Stone Press) was a
labor of love for writer Beth
Rodgers of Oak Park and
illustrator Howard Fridson of
Huntington Woods.
They wanted to create
a children’
s book about
Chanukah, but it seemed
like everything about the
holiday had already been
done. “I must have at least 20
Chanukah books for kids,
” said
Rodgers, a freelance editor and
mother of three sons, 6, 3 and
BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
BARBARA LEWIS
ABOVE: Howard Fridson and Beth
Rodgers show off their new
children’
s book.
40380 Grand River, Novi
Between Haggerty & Meadowbrook on the north side
248-615-2102
Bigtommys.com OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
TRADITIONAL
TURKEY & HAM
CARVING STATION
WITH ALL THE
TRIMMINGS
LAMB CHOPS
GREEK COMFORT FOOD
CHICKEN LEMONATO
PASTA
SALADS & FRESH FRUIT
BAKED GOOD &
DESSERTS
THANKSGIVING
FEAST
ADULT
$31.99
KIDS
10 & UNDER
$13.99
Gratuity & tax will be added for groups of 6 or more. Must call for reservation
.
7 months. She didn’
t want to
write about the Maccabees or
the miracle of the oil or latkes.
“I thought Chanu-Con would
be something different.
”
Rodgers, a Beth Shalom
vice president and chair of its
program committee, proposed
the event four years ago. The
name came from her son Evan’
s
mispronunciation of the name
of the holiday. It sounded like
Comic-Con, a well-known
national expo, and so Chanu-
Con was born.
The free event, which
attracts more than 500 partic-
ipants, includes vendor tables,
a raffle, live musical entertain-
ment, activities for children,
including a bounce house, and
several kosher food purveyors.
This year’
s Chanu-Con will
be Sunday, Nov. 24, from 1-5
p.m. at Beth Shalom, 14601
Lincoln, Oak Park.
Welcome to Chanu-Con, writ-
ten in rhyme, follows siblings
Max and Lila as they attend
the festival with their parents.
“Today is the day,
” (Max)
exclaimed, loud and clear.
“What time do we leave? I’
ve
been waiting all year.
”
At Chanu-Con, the children
make tissue paper menorahs
and candle hats — and direc-
tions are included at the back of
the book so young readers can
do the same.
Rodgers has published two
young adult novels, Freshman
Fourteen and Sweet Fifteen.
Fridson has illustrated a num-
ber of children’
s books, includ-
ing The Journey of a Dollar
by Doris Rubenstein and The
Animals’
Great Football Game
by Jeffrey London, as well
as one he wrote, Our Family
Treasure.
The two started collaborating
on Welcome to Chanu-Con in
early 2018. The creative process
survived three house moves
(two by Fridson and one by
graphic designer Adrienne
Berlin, of Milwaukee, Wis.) and
the birth of Rodgers’
youngest
son, Noah.
The book is available on
Amazon.