Barnyard Bubbe's Hanukkah

September 15, 2019
Barnyard Bubbe makes latkes and applesauce out of the ingredients delivered by her farm-animal friends. This board book invites readers to play two simultaneous guessing games: Which animal has left each food item, and why are they leaving them at Barnyard Bubbe's door? On each night of Hanukkah, Barnyard Bubbe discovers different gifted food, and each night she asks, "Oh, my. Who has left this for me?" It's a mystery to the readers, too, save the swish of a chicken's tail, for example, which is accompanied by the word "Bwak." The final double-page spread reveals the culmination of the animals' gifts and Barnyard Bubbe's hard work: those latkes with applesauce, of course. Klein-Higger and Sharf's text follows a repeated, rhyming pattern that is largely successful until it falls apart on the last two pages. There is no inclusion of the religious aspects of Hanukkah, and the only related symbol is the menorah at the end. Gutierrez's Bubbe looks the part of a stereotypical white grandmother, down to the apron and granny glasses. The illustrations vary little except for the changing animal part, limiting engagement in Barnyard Bubbe's world. The anthropomorphized animals at the end are cute enough but lackluster. Overall, a sweet, secular book for Hanukkah. Formulaic but fun. (Board book. 2-4)

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July 1, 2019
"On the first night of Hanukkah, / what did Barnyard Bubbe see? / One sack of meal. / 'Oh, my. Who has left this for me?'" A hoof in the illustration and a neigh hint at the answer; on the next night, two cups of oil are left with an oink. Illustrations give way to the cheerful reveal: the whole menagerie enjoying Bubbe's latkes. The pattern in this counting board book invites noisy participation.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2019
"On the first night of Hanukkah, / what did Barnyard Bubbe see? / One sack of meal. / 'Oh, my. Who has left this for me?'" A hoof in the illustration and a neigh in the text hint at the answer; on the next night (and on the facing page), two cups of oil are left with an oink, and we're off. The pattern, with animal sounds as well as knock knock knocks and the like, invites noisy audience participation in this delicious counting book. Illustrations focusing on the door where the gifts arrive give way to the cheerful reveal: the whole mishpachah, er, menagerie enjoying Bubbe's latkes. Shoshana Flax

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)