The Best Hanukkah Books of 2019 {booklist}

I spent a semester in undergrad studying abroad in Israel.  I fell in love with the country, the culture, the people, and so much of the food.  The Jewish and Islamic religions have always had a special place in my heart since that semester abroad. 

I had the absolute best time reading Hanukkah books this holiday season.  My kids and I would snuggle on the couch and read away; I loved how much they learned about Hanukkah and the discussions we had.  I will say that the I am a bit bummed the selection of Hanukkah books is far more limited than Christmas picture books; however, there are some real gems in this list that you must read.  

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah or not, I hope you will check out some of these awesome books.  

Best Hanukkah Books of 2019

9 Books b/c I just couldn’t pick eight

Little Red Ruthie by Gloria Koster

Little Red Riding Hood with a Hanukkah twist.

Simon and the Bear by Eric Kimmel

Simon learns that the Hanukkah Festival of Lights can still bring miracles.  A sweet story that will warm your heart.

The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah by Martha Seif Simpson

This picture book is definitely on the longer end, but it is a great reminder of the true spirit of Hanukkah.

Kugel For Hanukkah? by Gretchen M. Everin

Each night of Hanukkah brings a different gift, but for this family the gifts add up to something delicious and something new.  It’s a fun story that shows intergenerational relationships. 

Is It Hanukkah Yet? by Chris Barash

A fun and simple rhyming story portraying Hanukkah during the winter season.

The Hanukkah Hop! by Erica Silverman

Hanukkah has traditions, and for some games and dancing together is one of those traditions.  This rhyming story will get your feet tapping along to its beat. 

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel by Caryn Yacowitz

The classic story with a Hanukkah twist is fun, and the illustrations are unique.  David Slonim, the illustrator, has the Old Lady portrayed in many “classics” like the Mona Lisa.  Definitely a book to check-out. 

Nonna’s Hanukkah Surprise by Karen Fisman

A story of how love and traditions helps one intergenerational family celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. The illustrations are simply beautiful.

Light the Menorah! A Hanukkah Handbook by Jacqueline Jules

This nonfiction book is definitely a handbook.  It provides a plethora of information about the holiday as well as a poem for each of the eight nights.  You’ll probably surprise yourself with how much you love this book.

Do you have a favorite Hanukkah book?  

Spooky Munchies for Spooky Reads {book list}

I'm a reading snacker; I admit it.  Admitting it is the first step I hear.  While my brain is reading I love to be doing something with my mouth.  Are you a reading snacker?  

I love drinking water while reading non-fiction.  I love salty snacks when things are intense.  I love sweets when the story is sweet 💖.  Depending how the story is going will depend on what snack I want to eat.  Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out what kind of books causes me to munch on veggies and dip.  Hmmmmm

During the holidays reading snacks must be festive. It's pretty much a holiday reading rule.  ;)  With it so close to Halloween, obviously the snacks are holiday appropriate. 

I figured I might as well attempt to explain my reading snack madness to convert more of you over to the side of snacking by type of book/read. 

Spooky Munchies for Spooky Reads

Something Sweet

For me this means chocolate candy, though for those odd people (like a certain Mr. of mine) I know sweet sugary candy is preferred. 

I think any Halloween picture book fits in this category.

My favorite Halloween picture books this year are the following: 

Creepy Carrots

Creepy Pair of Underwear

Moldilocks and the Three Scares

Big Pumpkin

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Something Sour

When I say sour I mean sour candy.  Just sour doesn't do anything for me, but Sour Patch Kids every now and again, that is yum.  

Sour Candy books are a little weird but cool at the same time.  

Coraline is definitely a sour candy book. 

   Something Salty

Salty snacks have to have a crunch for me.  Potato chips are my go to salty reading snack.  

Salty books are intense books that keep me coming back for more intensity... just like salty chips.  

Cirque du Freak  is an intense, every chapter is a cliff hanger, salty chip book.  

Such a fun series, and a great classroom or family read aloud for 5th-8th grade kids. 

Something with Everything

Snacks that are sweet, salty, and crunchy are perfect for the spooky reads with intensity, action, humor, and a little quirkiness.  

Books that have it all deserve a snack that has it all.  

I used to make a candy corn and peanuts snack mix, but then I came across this recipe from Oh Sweet Basil.  It has since won my heart. #yummy

The Last Kids on Earth is a book with thrill and laughs.

Bonus, it is now on Netflix. 

Something Pumpkin

Seasonal reads always entice some seasonally flavored snacks, and ice cream is always a great reading snack.  

The season of pumpkins deserves a book that sweet and seasonal as well as a delicious treat like Pumpkin Ice Cream. 

Pumpkinheads is such a fun and sweet and seasonally festive graphic novel.  It's a book you could read in the time a big bowl of ice cream took you to eat.  

Thank you Penguin Kids for the fun book and an excuse to share some of my favorite Halloween books with the snacks I eat with them.  

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies {dessert}

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I'm not a drinker, but I do love mint.  In regards to celebrating the day, I'm sure mint is the equivalent to a Guinness I'm sure.  ;) 

I love mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Mint and chocolate is my second favorite combo (only peanut butter and chocolate beat it out).  It's just delicious.  

I love mint and have a few other mint cookies.  These Andes Mint cookies are delicious, and these Double Chocolate Mint M&M cookies are scrumptious as well.  

However, I was lacking a GREEN mint cookie, and felt this Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie was just the recipe I needed to share with you on St. Patrick's Day!  It's green.  It's mint. It's delicious.

Enjoy! 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe: Alohamora adapted from TheFoodCharlatan
Active Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time; 2.5 hours
Servings: 22 large cookies

Ingredients: 
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, large
1 tsp peppermint extract
10 drops of green food coloring
3 c. and 2 Tbsp flour  (3 cups for flatter cookies)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag (11 oz) dark chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. 
2. Add the eggs, yolk, peppermint, and food coloring to the to the bowl mixing after each addition. 
3. Add the remaining dry ingredients, except the chocolate chips, to the bowl in the order listed.  Mix the dough until it is just combined.  
4. Add the chocolate chips to the dough until just combined. 
5. Using the large cookie scoop (or about 1 1/2 Tbsp) to scoop the dough into balls and place them all on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat map. Let the dough freeze for 30 minutes and then place all of the dough in a labeled sealed airtight bag.  The cookies can stay in this sealed bag in your freezer for a couple months.   
6. When ready to cook the cookies, add 6-8 dough balls to a parchment paper or a baking mat pan.  Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for approximately 8 to 10 minutes until they are no longer shiny.   
7. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes or so.  
8. Enjoy the cookies warm with milk, or just enjoy them!
9. Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter. 

Happy Green wearing St. Patrick's Day fun! 

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies {Cookie Week Recipe #4)

My husband doesn't like chocolate.  I know, it's pure craziness.  What is even crazier is that I knew this before I married him.  

A couple years ago I shared this delicious Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, and they are delicious!  I love peppermint and chocolate so it is a win of a cookie in my book.  

However, with my husband's dislike for chocolate, I wanted to make him a peppermint cookie this Holiday season that he could enjoy.  Therefore, the White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies were made, and they were a win for not only my husband but everyone.  They are yum!   

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Recipe: Alohamora adapted from HereComestheSunBlog
Active Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Time: 25 minutes
Servings: about 3 dozen with medium cookie scoop

Ingredients: 
1 c. butter, softened (mostly melted for flat cookies)
1 c. sugar
1 small pkg (3.9 oz) vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour, unbleached
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 pkg (10 oz) Andes Peppermint Baking Chips

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. 
2. In a large bowl or a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
3. Add the dry pudding mix and mix until combined. 
4. Add the eggs and the vanilla one at a time mix between each addition. 
5. Add the flour and the baking soda and mix until just combined. 
6. Finally, add the while chocolate chips and the peppermint baking chips and mix until just combined.
7. Use a medium cookie scoop or a spoon to create dough balls approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons in size; place the dough on your prepared pans. 
8. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees for 7-9 minutes.  Seven minutes was my magic number.  You don't want to overcook these soft cookies. 
9. Enjoy! 
10. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week. 

Happy White Chocolate Peppermint Soft Cookies eating! 

Do you prefer white chocolate or real ;) chocolate?

Cake Batter Funfetti Cookies {Cookie Week Recipe #2}

Yay for Cookie Week!  Did you get the S'mores Cookie recipe?  Oh it is oh so tasty. 

Today I'm all about fun and tasty cookies! 

Yay for sprinkles!  Yay for cake batter!  Yay for Cookie Week recipe #2!  Yay for another delicious cookie recipe!  Yay for Cake Batter Funfetti Cookies! 

These fun cookies kids love, and all sugar cookie fans devour.  The taste is amazing, the sprinkles are fun, and the cookies are quite easy to make.  

Throw in some red and green sprinkles for Christmas, blue sprinkles for Hanukkah, a favorite color for a birthday, or team colors for a game and you've got a personalized treat.  Really, the options are endless and always deliciously fun.  

Enjoy a little more sprinkle love in your life with these yummy cookies!
  

Cake Batter Funfetti Cookies
Recipe: Alohamora adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Active Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 3 dozen with a medium cookie scoop

Ingredients: 
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, large
2 tsp vanilla
3 c. flour, unbleached
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tarter
1/3 c. sprinkles + more for topping

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two cookies sheets with Silpat, baking mat, or parchment paper.  Those aren't necessary, but they do help make the perfect cookie! 
2. In a large bowl or a stand mixer beat the butter for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy. 
3. Add the sugar and beat it together until the mixture is light and fluffy. 
4. Add the eggs and the vanilla to the mixture one at a time mixing between each addition.  
5. Add the dry ingredients in the order listed and then mix the dough until it is just combined. 
6. Add 1/3 cup of sprinkles to the dough and mix until just combined. 
7. Using a medium cookie scoop scoop dough balls onto the prepared pans.  If you don't have a cookie scoop use a spoon and make approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball.
8. Fill a 1/3 measuring cup or small ramekin with sprinkles.  Dunk the top of your cookie dough ball into the small bowl of sprinkles and then place it right side up on the pan. The top should now have several sprinkles on it.  You can also sprinkle sprinkles on top of each cookie dough ball.  However, the dunking method worked better, and was a bit cleaner.  
9. Bake your cookies at 325 for 6-8 minutes; 7 minutes was my magic number.  You want the cookies to just be set but not overcooked.  These cookies are soft cookies; to keep them that way avoid overcooking them.  
10. Let your cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. 
11. Enjoy your sprinkle cookies hot, warm, or cool. 
12. Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter. 

Happy Cake Batter Funfetti Sugar Cookie eating!

My 25 Favorite Christmas Books for 2016 {Picture Book List}

Do you do the Christmas Book Advent? We don't wrap up 25 different books b/c I am lazy and to be honest we read too much.  I'm pretty sure it would torture my son to have to wait every single day.  

I have close to 40 Christmas books near our Christmas tree this year, but these are my 25 Favorite Christmas Books for 2016 and they are all being read almost daily by my son.    

Some of these books are new, some of them are old, but all of them are fantastic books.  You definitely need to check them out. 

In regards to Christmas Traditions we may not do the picture book advent, but every year we get a new Christmas book.  I wrap it up and the kids open it up on Christmas Eve.  

It's a pretty great tradition that I love as much as my kids love it.  All of our previous "Christmas Eve" books are on this list, b/c they are amazing. The Last Christmas Tree, The Polar Express, A Bad Kitty Christmas, Bear Stays Up, Tacky's Christmas, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, are our previous Christmas Eve books. This year we are getting The Gingerbread Man Loose at School.

I love adding great books to our personal collection, and I love this time of year.  

Do you have any book holiday traditions?  I  love hearing any others. 

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

My 25 Favorite Christmas Books for 2016

A Cookie for Santa by Stephanie Shaw

This story about a gingerbread and Santa is funny, refreshing, and done with the same rhythm and rhyme as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Best for Kindergarten to 3rd grade.

The Christmas Fox by Anik McGrory

This book is simple and short, but it shares a valuable lesson about gifts given and the real meaning of Christmas.

Best for Toddlers to 3^rd grade.

Stowaway in a Sleigh by C. Roger Mader

Another simple story, but a fun one especially geared to the cat lover.

Best for Toddlers to 2^nd grade, and Cat Lovers of all ages.

Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

If the author’s name sounds familiar it’s b/c she wrote the popular Goodnight Moon.  This story, is simple in text, and it tells the story of Jesus’s birth.  The best book I have read about the story of Jesus’s Birth for young children.

Best for Toddlers through 2^nd grade.

The Not Very Merry Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

We love The Pout Pout Fish in my family, and this Christmas story version is pretty darn cute as well.  The repetitious phrases are great for the young kiddos, and the rhythm is always on par with the Pout books.  Definitely check this one out.

Best for Toddlers through 3^rd grade.

The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray

Have you read any of the Gingerbread Man books by Murray.  The stories are great, the illustrations are consistent and cute, and the text has great rhythm.  They are just fun.  We love all of them.  This Christmas one has a great message of letting others know you care and appreciate them.

Best for Preschoolers through 4^th grade.

Maple and Willow’s Christmas Tree by Lori Nichols

If you have not checked out the Maple and Willow books then you need to change that.  The story of two sisters is incredibly relatable for siblings, and they are all really cute stories.  This Christmas Tree story is no exception; it’s a good, cute, and sweet book.

Best for Preschoolers through 4^th grade.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore illustrated by DavidErcolini

I always check out different versions of this classic story, and state that you should buy this book dependent on the illustrations.  The illustrations in Ercolini’s version is modern, funny, and refreshing cool. Definitely check them out.

Best for Kindergartners through 6^th grade.

The Christmas Boot by Lisa Wheeler

Many of Wheeler’s books are funny with great rhythm; Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum is still a family favorite.  This Christmas story by Wheeler is not really funny, but it is a cute unexpected story with a French twist (France + Christmas tradition + shoes).

Best for 1^st through 5^th grade.

The Last Christmas Tree by Stephen Krensky

Beautiful story that will tug at your heart strings and make you smile.

Best for Kindergarten through 4^th grade.

The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell

This story is long, but it is beautiful as well.  Not as much Christmas but it is more so the birth of Jesus.

Best for 4^th grade and up.

Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho! by Doreen Cronin

If you love the Click Clack Moo books then this one is right up your alley.

Best for Toddlers to 3^rd grade.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

This is such a fun classic story, though a bit wordy and long, that everyone should read during the Holidays.  I like to read the story and then watch the cartoon as a family.

Best for 3rd through 6th grade.

Santa! by Rufus Butler Seder

This scanimation picture book is interactive and fun for many ages.

Best for Toddlers to Adults (I mean, I like it!)

The Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda

It’s a Sabuda book so the pop-ups are amazing.  This book is simple in words and absolutely beautiful in illustrations.

Best for Toddlers to 2nd grade.

Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini

I really love many Palatini books, and the Moosetache books are just fun.  This story about a Moose with some serious hair LOVES Christmas and plans for a great one, but it doesn’t work out as smoothly as he’d like.

Best for Preschool through 3rd grade. 

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

I love this classic Christmas story, and my kids do as well.   I’ve even choked up the last few times I read it to my kids. I'm a crier though. ;)

Best for Toddlers through 3^rd grade.

Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson

The Bear books are great fun with great rhythm and perfect for the younger kids.  Parents, teachers and librarians will enjoy reading this story as well.

Best for Toddlers through 1^st grade.

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

These Snowmen books are so fun to read, and this Christmas book is as much fun as the others.

Best for Toddlers through 2^nd grade.

A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel

This book made my previous Christmas book list, but it is such a great read for kids and adults alike.  It’s a little long, so unless your child has a long reading attention span you’ll want to wait until they are at least 1^st grade.

Best for 1^st through 3^rd grade.

  

Tacky’s Christmas by Helen Lester

We love Tacky the Penguin, and this Christmas version is a fun one.

Best for Toddlers through 3^rd grade.

Here Comes Santa Cat by Deborah Underwood

A fun read for kids of all ages.

Best for Toddlers through 3^rd grade.

“I’m not Santa!” by Jonathan Allen

This simple story line seems awfully similar to how preschoolers behave.

Best for Preschool to 2^nd grade.

My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

This is an absolutely fantastic Christmas story kids and adults alike will love.  It’s a sweet story with a great message that stays funny and light hearted.

Best for Preschoolers through 3^rd grade.

Turkey Claus by Wendi Silvano

Turkey Trouble is such a fun Thanksgiving book, and Turkey Claus is a perfect Christmas sequel.  Fun read for boys and girls alike, and this read aloud is fun for parents, teachers, and librarians to read as well.

Best for Toddlers through 2^nd grade.

 Happy Christmas Book Reading!