Toby Belfer Never Had a Christmas Tree

by Gloria Teles Pushker, Judith Hierstein (Illustrator)

Toby invites her friends to join in her family�s Hanukkah celebration to find out why Toby never had a Christmas tree.

Genres: Fiction, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1991

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid story that emphasizes learning from each other and outlines families different traditions

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty illustrations. Love the eyelashes on the people. Enjoyed learning about the traditions, culture and history of Hanukkah and the Jewish people.

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice book about a girl who lives in a rural community where her's is the only Jewish family. Most of the year there's not a lot of difference between Toby and her friends in town. But at the holidays, when everyone else is getting ready for Christmas, Toby is preparing for Hanukkah. Toby decides to invite all her friends over so they can celebrate and learn with her.

This is a good introduction to the history and celebration of Hanukkah for children of all backgrounds. It's also a nice tale about accepting people from different backgrounds--and how being friends who people who are different from us can enrich our lives.

I found the actual prose of the text to be a bit bland. There were places where I would have edited down the text some to keep the pacing better. The illustrations were alright, but already seem pretty dated in style.

Still it's probably one of the better picture books for really explaining Hannukah to children.

[Erin Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I am not Jewish, but that does not mean that I'm not curious.

As a child, I was never really exposed to books about Hanukkah, so when I saw this at the preschool where I work, I was really excited.

I read it on my own, and I enjoyed it. It is beautifully written, and does a great job at explaining the Jewish traditions. It is something I would recommend to other preschool teachers or parents of curious little ones.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really do think that the illustrations in this book are some of the most beautiful that I've ever seen in a picture book aimed at kids. The story itself is very nice and a good book for Jewish kids about Channukah. However, the way it's written makes it also accessible and potentially enjoyable for non-Jewish kids who are interested in the subject. Highly recommended.