This story first came to author Joy Preble's imagination when she saw a boy picking out a new menorah. She wondered who he was, who his family was, and how their story connected to the Hanukkah story.
From her curiosity emerged this heartwarming tale of a boy named Nate who has just moved with his two dads to a new apartment, leaving behind the old one with its familiar comforts. Sadly, the moving company lost his menorah. Along with it, he has lost his favorite part of Hanukkah: how it's always the same. "How can Hanukkah be Hanukkah with everything so different?"
He and his dads shop for a new menorah, but none in the shop call to him. A gust of wind bangs the shop door open, and the shop's cat, Kugel, rushes out into the snowy day.
It's only as Nate tries to find Kugel that he's able to discover the actual meaning of the word Hanukkah — rededication: "You miss what you had before, but you celebrate what you got back. You remember what it took to get there." Along the way, Nate finds that patience, creativity, and consideration for others help him find exactly what he needs.
Illustrator Lisa Anchin alternates between expansive two-pages spreads and pages with multiple pictures that bring children right into details of the story's action, like spinning a dreidel and turning down a stegosaurus-shaped menorah. Strong feelings of mutual support, respect, and affection come through each view we get into Nate's new life.
Written for five-to-eight-year-old readers, this book includes a brief history of Hanukkah and descriptions of some Hanukkah traditions. It concludes deliciously with a recipe for "Nate's Save-the-Day Latkes."
