The Golden Dreydl

by Ellen Kushner, Ilene Winn-Lederer (Illustrator)

Overview

Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin

Sara finds Chanukah celebrations boring. When her Tante Miriam arrives and gives her a Golden Dreydl, everything changes. The dreydl, an enchanted princess in disguise, takes Sara on a journey to a magical world.

When the princess is taken by the Demon King, who possesses the power of the Tree of Life, it is Sara who must use her wit to save the princess and return her to her parents — King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

A delightful holiday tale that weaves together threads of Jewish folklore and tradition with fantasy and humor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607345039
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	07/22/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ellen Kushner is the host and writer of the national public radio series PRI's Sound & Spirit. She is the award-winning author of fantasy novels for teens and adults. Ellen lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6-Grouchy Sara, bored with her family's Chanukah party, perks up when mysterious Tante Miriam arrives and doles out special presents. Sara's gift of a large golden dreydl(a traditional Chanukah toy) kicks off a magical journey. The object is an enchanted princess in disguise, and she leads Sara on an adventure through an alternate world peopled with biblical characters. This story originated as a Jewish riff on The Nutcracker Suite, with narration by Kushner and Tchaikovsky-influenced klezmer music by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra. On CD, on Sound & Spirit(Kushner's show on public radio), or in live performance, this is a lively and entertaining story. However, it falls flat as a novel. Cardboard characters, a convoluted plot, and a veneer of modern cool weigh it down. Neither Sara nor readers learn anything about Chanukah or Jewish tradition from this brush with Judaic symbols, and without the music the story feels random and uninspired. The twisty, mystical line drawings make intriguing decorations, but the illustrations showing human faces appear lumpy and unpleasant. An additional purchase for large collections.-Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

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School Library Journal

It's the winter holiday season and Sara, who longs for strings of twinkling lights and a glittery Christmas tree, is jealous of her Christian friends' traditions. She's bored and grouchy at her family's annual Chanukah party and not at all thrilled by her Tante (Aunt) Miriam's gift of a golden dreydl. But what Sara doesn't know is that her present has magical powers. Later that night, Sara is transported into a looking-glass world of adventure complete with biblical characters, an enchanted princess, a riddle-spouting Fool and some serious demons. The concept is winning and some of the language is lovely, but despite the fact that Sara's adventure is brimming with action, it fails to catch fire or even pull the reader along, and the multifaceted message is muddled. The illustrations are beautiful, though-richly-detailed, cheeky and charming-and they help compensate for the missing magic in the text. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews