The Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, celebrates the rededication of the Jewish temple after a group of ancient heroes defended their right to worship as they wished.
Polacco has a warm, colorful illustrative style she applies to what at first seems the simple story of a Jewish girl, Trisha, and her Christian neighbors, whose bout with scarlet fever at Christmas threatens to ruin Trisha's Hanukkah.
Carla's book about the first Thanksgiving survives the fire that destroys her apartment. When she and her mother move in to their new building, Carla is determined to bring the residents together in a Thanksgiving no one will ever forget.
In this warm holiday story, a young Puerto Rican boy saves the life of his pet turkey on Thanksgiving with help from his close-knit New York City family and neighborhood. Spanish vocabulary is woven into the text. Spanish version available.
This is a picture book edition of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, meant for younger readers. It tells the story of a girl dying of leukemia as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.