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One Yellow Daffodil: A Hanukkah Story
A Holocaust survivor shares Hanukkah with a loving family that gives him the courage to remember.
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
David A. Adler
400 books204 followersDavid Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.
Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.
Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.
As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.
(source: Wikipedia)
Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.
Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.
As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.
(source: Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 10, 2016
I thought that this book was good because it went back to the main characters past to show why he is like this in the future.
December 16, 2018
Summary: Morris, a Holocaust survivor, dedicates his life to selling flowers, a likely tribute to the single yellow daffodil he believes saved his life. With support from two of his favorite customers, Morris is able to reflect on his past and celebrate his first Hanukkah in many years.
Genre: Multicultural. This book deals with Judaism and the struggles many Holocaust survivors faced as they tried to return to their old lives. It also explores common Hanukkah traditions, which may be unfamiliar to many students.
Reading Level: N
Writing Mentor Trait:
Idea: This book presents a story in which a simple daffodil symbolized hope during a time of total devastation. Students could use this as a mentor text to introduce symbolization to their own writing. This could be in the form of writing about something that makes them realize everything is going to be okay when they feel sad or scared. They can talk about why that thing brings them comfort.
Other Uses: This book could be used to compare and contrast celebrations in different cultures or to discuss how the Holocaust impacted the lives of the survivors.
Genre: Multicultural. This book deals with Judaism and the struggles many Holocaust survivors faced as they tried to return to their old lives. It also explores common Hanukkah traditions, which may be unfamiliar to many students.
Reading Level: N
Writing Mentor Trait:
Idea: This book presents a story in which a simple daffodil symbolized hope during a time of total devastation. Students could use this as a mentor text to introduce symbolization to their own writing. This could be in the form of writing about something that makes them realize everything is going to be okay when they feel sad or scared. They can talk about why that thing brings them comfort.
Other Uses: This book could be used to compare and contrast celebrations in different cultures or to discuss how the Holocaust impacted the lives of the survivors.
June 12, 2022
Instead of writing a traditional review, I will share one paragraph from this story.
“One morning, after he had lost all hope for survival, Morris saw a small yellow flower, a daffodil, blooming outside his barracks. The rain he had cursed because of the mud it made had nurtured the flower. Now it was reaching out for the sun. If the daffodil can survive here, Morris thought, maybe I can too. Morris knows that luck, more than anything, saved him. But he feels the flower saved him.”
There is so much more to this story. Read it.
“One morning, after he had lost all hope for survival, Morris saw a small yellow flower, a daffodil, blooming outside his barracks. The rain he had cursed because of the mud it made had nurtured the flower. Now it was reaching out for the sun. If the daffodil can survive here, Morris thought, maybe I can too. Morris knows that luck, more than anything, saved him. But he feels the flower saved him.”
There is so much more to this story. Read it.
December 19, 2022
A touching Hanukkah story about a Holocaust survivor who be friends two children and is invited to spend the holiday with their family. The book did require some explanation for my child, as the horrors the man experienced during WWII are alluded to, but not really explained. An inspiring story about hope and compassion.
December 2, 2018
A sweet, simple story that all children should hear.
November 17, 2016
Florist living somewhere English-speaking (NYC? London? A smaller town?) befriends two schoolchildren who invite him to their family's Hanukkah celebrations, which he is reluctant to go to because of his painful childhood memories.
A sweet story, but one of those children's books that seems to have been written to tell the story, without thought of the audience. It's wordy and slow-moving and full of references that children might not understand until the middle elementary grades - Auschwitz, Nazis, Talmud, Morris returning to his village in Poland and discovering a different family in his home. The climax of the story, Morris's tale of the yellow daffodil, goes by with barely a blip. A book that might be best read in the classroom, as part of a supporting unit.
The art was nice - acrylic on watercolor paper. Lots of detail, realism, and texture. However, everything is very dark, to the point of being difficult to make out. I actually had to tilt the book back and forth under a lamp to see everything clearly.
The author's note states that the story is inspired by the Holocaust survivors he interviewed with similar stories, which I think weakens the narrative. Why must children's books and shows take place in some sort of vague anywhere/anywhen to be considered appealing?
A sweet story, but one of those children's books that seems to have been written to tell the story, without thought of the audience. It's wordy and slow-moving and full of references that children might not understand until the middle elementary grades - Auschwitz, Nazis, Talmud, Morris returning to his village in Poland and discovering a different family in his home. The climax of the story, Morris's tale of the yellow daffodil, goes by with barely a blip. A book that might be best read in the classroom, as part of a supporting unit.
The art was nice - acrylic on watercolor paper. Lots of detail, realism, and texture. However, everything is very dark, to the point of being difficult to make out. I actually had to tilt the book back and forth under a lamp to see everything clearly.
The author's note states that the story is inspired by the Holocaust survivors he interviewed with similar stories, which I think weakens the narrative. Why must children's books and shows take place in some sort of vague anywhere/anywhen to be considered appealing?
March 3, 2015
One Yellow Daffodil by David A. Adler is a picture book about an older gentleman whom owns a flower shop. The children that come into his shop are very friendly and Morris enjoys their visits. He is very kind to all that come to the shop. Readers can tell that Morris is lonely he is missing something. One day he is invited over for the children's Hanukkah celebration but turns them down. Then, is inspired to go and reveals a secret that sets him free... Find out when you read One Yellow Daffodil: A Hanukkah Story. This children's book would be best read to 1st-4th gread because of the challenging vocabulary and some background research is needed to know what some of the specific events that are touched on are.
March 3, 2021
In ES library
Only survivor
Child of the Holocaust
Only survivor
Child of the Holocaust
January 2, 2013
Brought tears to my eyes- so much more than a Hanakkah story, this is a story of a generous elderly man dealing with his memories of what he lost as a young boy. Fantastic story with enough details for middle schoolers to pick up on for deep discussions of how people suffered long after World War II ended.
January 11, 2016
This book was a great example of the scares that concentration camps could have left you with. It is great for children just learning about the holocaust. It shows exactly how painful it was for people to carry on with life after what the Nazis had done.
January 8, 2016
This book described what happened to the main character rather than explaining the Holocaust which is probably better for younger readers. I don't think this book would be good if you wanted to explain the Holocaust to a kid.
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January 13, 2016This story is a very inspirational story about the holocaust. Where a storekeepers religion is brought back to life. Two children prove to this shopkeeper that he should be proud to be Jewish, and he becomes very close friend with them and they celebrate Hanukkah, together.
May 24, 2008
Good read aloud.
April 7, 2009
Touching. Subtle. Community-building in action.
January 4, 2011
This is on of the main reasons why I always look askance at movies that deliberately film the Holocaust in black and white - color existed in this world long before Technicolor was invented.
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January 14, 2013World War Two (Holocaust)
April 18, 2014
Beautiful illustrations. Beautiful and touching story for all readers, children and adults alike. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate this wonderful Hanukkah story.
January 7, 2016
Were reading it with our groups
January 8, 2016
The story was a delightful story about a man that owns a flower shop, and two kids seemed ti change his life.
January 8, 2016
I thought this was a pretty good short story. I liked Morris's story about finding hope while being in the concentration camps.
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January 11, 2018I think this was a good book to read because it shows what the lives of survivors was like after the holocaust. The main character Morris had no home or family to go home too after the holocaust.A family had moved into his home and everyone in his family had died.This was the case for most survivors.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews