52 | DECEMBER 12 • 2019
F
rom a furry friend to a fashion icon
to a few bestsellers, here’
s a list of new
books for everyone in the family.
After you light the candles and spin the
dreidel, the entire family can curl up with
a good book. For children, Chanukah
books reinforce the holiday while a book
on self-esteem is always a boost. For busy
parents, best-sellers are fast reads. For
grandparents, a fashion icon coffee-table
book, an academic read and some humor-
ous poems make excellent additions to an
established library. Children, parents and
grandparents can always bond over a good
book.
CHILDREN
Grover’
s Hanukkah Party
By Joni Kibort Sussman, Kar-Ben
Publishing, $5.99
Grover and his Sesame
Street friends think the
number eight is great
and count out all the
essentials for the per-
fect Chanukah party.
This board book is
perfect for toddlers.
Kugel for Hanukkah
By Gretchen M. Everin, Kar-Ben Publishing,
$7.99
A young girl is mystified by the unusual
gifts she receives for Chanukah, while her
grandma receives the ingredients to make
a kugel. Each night, the mystery deepens
for the young girl with gifts of a bowl,
spray bottle and thermometer. On the last
night, the doorbell rings with a special
delivery — a pet iguana. She names her
iguana Kugel. For ages 4-9.
Crocodile, You’
re
Beautiful
By Dr. Ruth K.
Westheimer and
Dena Nuesner.
Apples & Honey
Press, $17.95
With tenderness and humor, Dr. Ruth
offers advice to the all the animals with
body image and self-esteem issues. Turtle
is slow and does not believe he is good at
anything, but Dr. Ruth encourages him.
So, he swims fast for his friends. Ant feels
tiny, but Dr. Ruth points out how hard he
works. His strength builds an anthill. Dr.
Ruth suggests some exercises like jumping
and feeling your muscles or looking in
the mirror and saying my body is perfect
for me. The cover reads Crocodile, You’
re
Beautiful and then underneath “Embracing
our Strengths and Ourselves.” Dr. Ruth
ends on a personal note saying when she
was younger, she struggled with being
short and was ridiculed. That’
s why she
decided to help others feel good about
themselves and embrace their bodies. For
ages 5-8.
PARENTS
The New Girl
By Daniel Silva, HarperCollins, $28.99
Gabriel Allon, the protagonist spy in
Daniel Silva’
s novels, makes his 19th
appearance in The New Girl. When a mys-
terious student vanishes from an exclusive
school, Allon is on the case. With interna-
tional intrigue, unlikely alliances and glob-
al politics, the plot rapidly unfolds. This
thriller will not disappoint Silva fans.
Mrs. Everything
By Jennifer Weiner, Atria Simon & Schuster,
$28
Two sisters with opposite
personalities and a difficult
mother create an interest-
ing relationship triangle.
Author Jennifer Weiner
dives in with humor,
warmth and charm. Her
characters are unforgetta-
ble, and the locale is familiar — Detroit
and Oakland County. Weiner makes
some mistakes, like naming the city West
Bloomfield Hills, but overlook it because
the book is enjoyable with a twist.
Here All Along: Finding Meaning,
Spirituality and a Deeper Connection to
Life — in Judaism (After Finally Choosing
to Look There)
Sarah Hurwitz, Random House, $28
An introductory class on Judaism kindled
a spark for author Sarah Hurwitz. At age
36, she chronicles her journey of discov-
ering her religion and provides insights
into Jewish beliefs. It’
s written in a breezy,
graceful style, and you would not expect
ISTOCK
Holiday Page Turners
New books to please every reader
in your family this Chanukah.
CARLA SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Arts&Life
books