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When Mindy Saved Hanukkah
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Little Mindy Klein lives with her tiny family behind the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue. When Mindy's father sprains his ankle right before Hanukkah, he is unable to bring home a candle for the menorah. So Mindy decides to set out and find the candle herself. But first she has to face off with an enormous, frightening cat. With a lot of bravery (and a little help from grandpa) Mindy manages to save Hanukkah just in time...and learns the true meaning behind the Festival of Lights.
Little Mindy Klein lives with her tiny family behind the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue. When Mindy's father sprains his ankle right before Hanukkah, he is unable to bring home a candle for the menorah. So Mindy decides to set out and find the candle herself. But first she has to face off with an enormous, frightening cat. With a lot of bravery (and a little help from grandpa) Mindy manages to save Hanukkah just in time...and learns the true meaning behind the Festival of Lights.
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Eric A. Kimmel
160 books111 followersEric A. Kimmel is an American author of more than 150 children's books. His works include Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman), Sydney Taylor Book Award winners The Chanukkah Guest and Gershon's Monster, and Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.
Kimmel was born in Brooklyn, New York and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Lafayette College in 1967, a master's degree from New York University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Illinois in 1973. He taught at Indiana University at South Bend, and at Portland State University, where he is Professor Emeritus of Education.
Kimmel lives with his wife, Doris, in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 16, 2019
The Chanukah countdown continues with one of my favorite stories. Eric A. Kimmel is the author of over fifty stories for children, and I have an inkling that he will appear later in this countdown. Just a hunch. This next story is a winner in my house and it has made an appearance in our Chanukah stack every year since my kids were old enough to show interest in being read to. Runner up in the 2019 Chanukah countdown is When Mindy Saved Chanukah.
The Klein (Yiddish for small) family lives in a hole behind the wall of Manhattan’s famous Eldridge Street Shul. Every year the Kleins somehow rescue an unused candle from the previous year’s Chanukah so Mama and Bubbe Klein can melt the wax to make enough small candles to last them for the entire festival. This year, Papa Klein is deterred by a cat who lurks in the shul, and so scared is Papa Klein, that he claims that there won’t be Chanukah this year because he does not want to face the monster again. We all know that cats aren’t monsters but to a small person they are just like Antiochus in the Chanukah story. And, of course, there can be no Chanukah without candles to place in the menorah.
Brave Mindy Klein saves the day. A strong girl protagonist, Mindy proclaims that she is the best climber in the family, and she is going to go to the ark to rescue the candle. Just like Yehudis from the Tanach, this Chanukah story has a female heroine. Because Mindy Klein is not afraid of Antiochus the cat. Armed with necessary gear, Mindy enters the shul so she can preserve Chanukah and its traditions for her family.
Kimmel equates Mindy saving Chanukah- with an assist from Zayde Klein- with the Maccabees defeating a stronger Greek army. More important for modern day readers is that Kimmel has created a strong female protagonist to save the day. Combined with authentic illustrations by Barbara McClintock, Kimmel has created a Chanukah story that the whole family will enjoy. I have a second hunch- that my kids who are self proclaimed too big for kids stories secretly read this when I am not looking.
4.5 stars
The Klein (Yiddish for small) family lives in a hole behind the wall of Manhattan’s famous Eldridge Street Shul. Every year the Kleins somehow rescue an unused candle from the previous year’s Chanukah so Mama and Bubbe Klein can melt the wax to make enough small candles to last them for the entire festival. This year, Papa Klein is deterred by a cat who lurks in the shul, and so scared is Papa Klein, that he claims that there won’t be Chanukah this year because he does not want to face the monster again. We all know that cats aren’t monsters but to a small person they are just like Antiochus in the Chanukah story. And, of course, there can be no Chanukah without candles to place in the menorah.
Brave Mindy Klein saves the day. A strong girl protagonist, Mindy proclaims that she is the best climber in the family, and she is going to go to the ark to rescue the candle. Just like Yehudis from the Tanach, this Chanukah story has a female heroine. Because Mindy Klein is not afraid of Antiochus the cat. Armed with necessary gear, Mindy enters the shul so she can preserve Chanukah and its traditions for her family.
Kimmel equates Mindy saving Chanukah- with an assist from Zayde Klein- with the Maccabees defeating a stronger Greek army. More important for modern day readers is that Kimmel has created a strong female protagonist to save the day. Combined with authentic illustrations by Barbara McClintock, Kimmel has created a Chanukah story that the whole family will enjoy. I have a second hunch- that my kids who are self proclaimed too big for kids stories secretly read this when I am not looking.
4.5 stars
December 16, 2009
I just love Barbara McClintock's illustrations and here they’re paired with a fun and lovely Hanukkah story. The illustrations aren’t my very favorite by her, but they were appealing, fit the story so well, have an old fashioned feel but feel timeless too.
This book is about a miniature Jewish family and they live behind the walls of the famous Eldridge Street Synagogue. In the back inside cover at the illustrator information section, it says that McClintock sat for hours at that synagogue as she sketched. I really appreciate that.
Children will love the story about a brave little girl who risks her safety to procure a spare candle needed to make Hanukkah candles for the holiday.
I guess the cat was just doing its job but the aggressive cat was my least favorite part of the story.
There’s a glossary in the back of the book that defines words specific to Judaism and Jewish history. There’s also an entry that explains the words in the book that mean little, very clever given that this is about a “little” family a la The Borrowers.
This is a terrific book for families to read every year during the eight days of Hanukkah. It depicts celebrating Hanukkah in a traditional way, despite the unusual size of the family.
This book is about a miniature Jewish family and they live behind the walls of the famous Eldridge Street Synagogue. In the back inside cover at the illustrator information section, it says that McClintock sat for hours at that synagogue as she sketched. I really appreciate that.
Children will love the story about a brave little girl who risks her safety to procure a spare candle needed to make Hanukkah candles for the holiday.
I guess the cat was just doing its job but the aggressive cat was my least favorite part of the story.
There’s a glossary in the back of the book that defines words specific to Judaism and Jewish history. There’s also an entry that explains the words in the book that mean little, very clever given that this is about a “little” family a la The Borrowers.
This is a terrific book for families to read every year during the eight days of Hanukkah. It depicts celebrating Hanukkah in a traditional way, despite the unusual size of the family.
November 16, 2018
The Kleins, a family of miniature people living behind the walls of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, were looking forward to Hanukkah! Mama was cooking, and Mindy was teaching her little brother Hillel how the play with the dreidel. But when Papa Klein arrived home in a terrible state - clothing torn, ankle sprained, and no candle for the holiday observations - things looked grim. "Without a candle, it just won't seem like Hanukkah," said Mama Klein. So Mindy, determined to save the Festival of Lights for her family, set out to retrieve the candle, crossing the massive synagogue, and braving its dangerous cat to do so...
Any reader, young or old, who enjoys tales of little people - Mary Norton's The Borrowers , John Peterson's The Littles - will thrill to this adventurous holiday story! I myself was immediately reminded of another Jewish tale featuring miniature people, Sadie Rose Weilerstein's The Adventures of K'Ton Ton , an association only reinforced later in the story, when the Kleins are visited by a number of other tiny families - the Pequeños, the Littles, and the Katans. Get it? "katan" is the Hebrew word for small, just as "pequeño" is the Spanish one, something that is made clear in the brief glossary.
Eric Kimmel's engaging text here is paired with Barbara McClintock's fabulous watercolor, ink and gouache illustrations, which accentuate the excitement of Mindy's adventures, and the warmth of her home and family life, and the result is an immensely appealing picture-book. Highly recommended - I thank my friend Chandra for putting me onto this one!
Any reader, young or old, who enjoys tales of little people - Mary Norton's The Borrowers , John Peterson's The Littles - will thrill to this adventurous holiday story! I myself was immediately reminded of another Jewish tale featuring miniature people, Sadie Rose Weilerstein's The Adventures of K'Ton Ton , an association only reinforced later in the story, when the Kleins are visited by a number of other tiny families - the Pequeños, the Littles, and the Katans. Get it? "katan" is the Hebrew word for small, just as "pequeño" is the Spanish one, something that is made clear in the brief glossary.
Eric Kimmel's engaging text here is paired with Barbara McClintock's fabulous watercolor, ink and gouache illustrations, which accentuate the excitement of Mindy's adventures, and the warmth of her home and family life, and the result is an immensely appealing picture-book. Highly recommended - I thank my friend Chandra for putting me onto this one!
December 30, 2009
Well, Chandra, Abigail, and Lisa--I am jumping on the bandwagon with my own enthusiastic review of this charming book! ;-) The illustrations are absolutely delightful, combining my appreciation for McClintock's work with my love of "teeny tiny" houses/people and how all the everyday objects we use like matchboxes and thimbles are given new life as part of the wee folks furnishings. Such a delight! I also appreciate that Mindy is a courageous heroine. This is a treat that I think transcends its holiday genre to be appealing at any time of the year and to those of any faith.
January 24, 2024
Apparently, Kimmel borrowed from The Borrowers and The Littles to create this delightful picture book story about a diminutive family, the Kleins (which means "little" in German), who live behind the walls of an actual synagogue in Manhattan. Their friends are the Littles, the Pequeños ("little" in Spanish) and the Katans ("little" in Hebrew). In this story, Mindy, the Klein daughter, while "borrowing" a Hanukkah candle, is chased by the synagogue cat. Barbara McClintock's detailed paintings depict the family's resourcefulness in using bottle caps, paper clips, buttons, match boxes, and other small items.
August 27, 2016
Along the lines of the borrowers - tiny people who want to 'get' their Hanukkah candle.
June 2, 2014
It's exciting because the cat wants to get them and the cat wants to eat them and when Mindy gets the candle the cat almost gets her, then her zaidy came. Cause they were a little family and that's what makes it exciting. And when Mindy's father came back from trying to get the candle he was hurt by the cat.
And that's why I like the story.
And that's why I like the story.
November 30, 2025
A fun little story about fun little Jews trying to celebrate Hanukkah, with the synagogue's new cat getting in the way. It's kind of clever that Kimmel not only doesn't bother explaining why there are tiny people, but lets the illustrations do some of the storytelling―like we're told that Mindy is using a "climbing hook," with the picture showing that it's a bent paperclip. The art is good, though I personally would have liked more stylized/less realistic designs for the human characters. I was quite impressed by the two-page spread of the synagogue interior, though.
For the most part it's just a silly story without much of a moral, though it flirts with a nice theme at the end, comparing the little people to the "small but mighty" Maccabees.
For the most part it's just a silly story without much of a moral, though it flirts with a nice theme at the end, comparing the little people to the "small but mighty" Maccabees.
May 2, 2023
Thanks to delightful Mindy, this year Hanukkah will be celebrated in style.
Even more amazing than Mindy, that bold little girl, is Zayde -- who "looked just like a Maccabee of old." Together, they were invincible.
BTW, the words on the last page are the best of all, but no spoiler from me, no no!
Even more amazing than Mindy, that bold little girl, is Zayde -- who "looked just like a Maccabee of old." Together, they were invincible.
BTW, the words on the last page are the best of all, but no spoiler from me, no no!
January 24, 2024
This is an exciting storybook about little people living in a synagogue. It teaches that people of all sizes can be heroes. It has a glossary of Jewish religion and culture words. Recommended for all!
December 22, 2023
Considering that this is a picture book, it has more than the usual amount of information about Hanukkah and Judism.
Stories with miniature people never have had much appeal.
Of the books about Hanukkah by Kimmel that I've read, this is my least favorite.
Stories with miniature people never have had much appeal.
Of the books about Hanukkah by Kimmel that I've read, this is my least favorite.
December 19, 2015
It reminds me a lot of The Borrowers, but I love stories about tiny people so that is alright by me. It tells the story of some Jewish little people whose adventure parallels the origin of Hanukkah. It's a unique story for a Hanukkah book.
October 8, 2015
I always love Barbara McClintock's work
January 14, 2012
Loved the "Littles" story, wonderful idea.
January 9, 2013
Charming Hannukah reenactment with a touch of Jewish egalitarianism thrown in.
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August 7, 2018Jewish "Borrowers"!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews