Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! We are slipping in a board book this week, but I know you won’t mind because HANUKKAH HIPPITY-HOP is so adorable – and perfect with Hanukkah right around the corner. And we missed celebrating author Barbara Kimmel’s book birthday because I had to step away from blogging for a while. But Barbara kindly stopped by to chat about the book…and she offering a GIVEAWAY…a copy of the book to one lucky winner (U.S. addresses only).

HANUKKAH HIPPITY-HOP

Written by Barbara Kimmel

Illustrated by Ana Zurita

Published by Kar Ben (October 1, 2024)

Ages: 1-4

Themes: Hanukkah,

Synopsis: From Amazon:
Get ready to celebrate―and get your wiggles out―by doing the Hanukkah Hippity-Hop! March like a Maccabee and stomp your feet, then shake like the jelly in a doughnut treat!

This festive and fun rhyming board book invites toddlers to stomp, shake, and spin as they learn about Hanukkah. This joyful book is a wonderful gift that’s sure to become a cherished holiday favorite for children—and their grown-ups!

Why I Love This Book:
1. Joyful rhyming text!
2. Joyful colorful illustrations!
4. Joyful interactive read-aloud!

Here’s some praise from Hornbook:
‘MARCH like a Maccabee—stomping your feet! / SHAKE like the jelly in a doughnut treat.’ This board book dances through the details of Hanukkah, urging young listeners to spin like a dreidel and jump like a latke in a pan. Bold illustrations feature a diverse group of kids (and one mischievous cat) hippity-hopping their holiday hearts out amid Hanukkah treats, decorations, and spinning dreidels. A jaunty introduction to Hanukkah activities for the toddler set.”— The Horn Book Magazine, HOLIDAY HIGH NOTES 2024

We’ll get to the craft activity in a minute, but first I want to welcome Barbara. She’s a member of the #JewishBoardBooks group and is always busy helping spread the word about the importance of board books!
ME: Welcome, Barbara!

BARBARA:
As a new writer, I participated in as many contests as possible to sharpen my skills and connect with the wonderful KidLit community. One of my favorites was your annual “50 Precious Words” challenge. To my surprise, my story placed 5^th out of 770 entries the first year I entered, and the following year, I was stunned to place 4th. To stay under 50 words, I wrote short, interactive rhymes—something I had never tried before. Placing in these contests inspired me to keep writing in that format, and the recognition from you and your judges gave me the confidence to stick with my dream of writing for children. Thank you!

ME: WOW! Thank you, Barbara! #50PreciousWords has inspired many writers, I think. And I’m already making plans for the 2025 contest…gathering prizes and I’ll soon be contacting my fabulous judges! By the way, for those of you who want to get a head start…the heads-up post will be up on the blog early in February…and the contest will take place from 12:01am March 2 to 11:59pm March 3.

But back to Hanukkah Hippity-Hop…it’s the perfect gift for little ones who will hold this sturdy book in their hands and will be developing early literacy skills as they turn the pages and focus on the vibrant illustrations!
Please help beautiful books like this succeed…we can:
Buy the book
Review the book
Tell friends about the book (Please share this post on your social media)
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection
And for more about the book and what Barbara is up to, please check out her website:https://barbarakimmelwrites.com/books/hanukkah-hippity-hop/

And here are a few fun crafts to keep the kiddos busy and engaged:

Just hippity-hop over to https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/kids-crafts-to-celebrate-hanukkah-4117938 for dozens of cool Hanukkah crafts for children of all ages!

Thank you for spending your precious time with us…blogging is still a bit frustrating because I’ve been away a while and WordPress seems to have updated things…I wish they would just leave everything the way it was. It seems as if once I learn how to navigate it, they change something and there is a whole new learning curve. Does that happen to you?

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this wonderful board book…and please share on your social media. I’m on Blue Sky now…are you?