Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon

This review is slightly out of season, but I watch Christmas movies out of season, so to me it's not a big deal to review a book about Hanukkah when it's not Hanukkah. Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon and illustrated by Mark Siegel is a lovely story about the grace of humanity that still exists during scary times.

It's 1938, and it's the seventh night of Hanukkah and also Christmas eve when Oskar arrives in New York City to live with an aunt he has never met. Oskar believed in blessings until Kristallnacht (or the Night of Broken Glass on November 9, 1938, in Germany), an event that forces Oskar's parents to send their son to safety in New York City. When Oskar disembarks from his ship, he must walk from the port down Broadway to his aunt's house at the other end of the city. Along the way the kindness of the people that Oskar meets restores his faith in blessings. And he is shown that his father is right--people can be good even in bad times.

At the end of the story there is a map on which the reader can trace Oskar's walk down Broadway and see the places where he received each of his blessings. There is also a note from the author about the inspiration for the story, a brief explanation of the author's family history connection to the story, and a short vocabulary list of Yiddish and German terms used in the story and the author's note. This is a wonderful story with a meaningful message and lovely illustrations.

--Reviewed by Ms. Angie

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