Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap

by Deborah Bodin Cohen

Other authorsShahar Kober (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 2011

Status

Available

Call number

H HN E COH

Publication

Kar-Ben Pub (2011), School & Library Binding, 32 pages

Description

Near Palestine in the 1890s, a train derails and its engineer, who was rushing to spend Hanukkah with friends, is surprised when a Bedouin who helps him says they are in the very place where the miracle of Hanukkah began.

Barcode

2046

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Engineer Ari returns in this third picture-book devoted to his holiday adventures, following upon Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride and Engineer Ari and the Sukkah Express. After doing some Hanukkah shopping in Jerusalem, he begins the train drive home to Jaffa, only to find himself stranded
Show More
when he must unexpectedly brake in order to avoid hitting a camel on the tracks. His new Bedouin friend Kalil, owner of the camel, join him in an impromptu Hanukkah celebration as the two wait for aid to arrive...

Like its predecessors, Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap pairs an engaging holiday story from American author and rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen with fun, colorful artwork from Israeli illustrator Shahar Kober. All of the books are set in Israel in the late 19th century, and reflect the opening of the first railway line in the country, running from Jaffa to Jerusalem, something discussed in more detail in the author's afterword. Some of the history and customs of Hanukkah - the revolt of the Maccabees, the playing with dreidels - are worked into the story here, as is the idea of friendship between Jews and Bedouins. I understand that Bedouins currently make up around 3.5% of the population of Israel proper, although I'm not sure what relations between the two communities were like in the 1890s. Whether historically accurate or not, I certainly like the idea of friendship across ethnic and religious lines. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for Hanukkah stories, and to fans of Engineer Ari and his adventures.
Show Less

ISBN

0761351450 / 9780761351450
Page: 0.3905 seconds