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. 

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CHICKEN LEMONATO
PASTA 
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BAKED GOOD & 
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THANKSGIVING
FEAST

ADULT
$31.99

KIDS

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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. 

