A Child's Hanukkah by Jewish Wedding Band (CD, Aug-1998, Kid Rhino)

This CD is a fantastic mix of old and new Hanukkah songs, in the form of a family home celebration that is not some tedious preachy trip. The kids joke around with each other, explain a lot of things to the adults, and vice versa, in normal conversation.

As for the songs, there's a nice rendition of the Dreydel song with FIVE VERSES (in English) that explain the meaning of each letter in the game. Plus you can learn to count to 8 in Ladio with "Ocho Candelitas." Other songs are in Hebrew and Yiddish, while their original new song, "Hanukkah at Home" is in English with an Israeli-sounding tune.

Among the other new songs are "In the Darkest Days," which tells how we light the candles in that long nights of the winter solstice, at the dark of the moon. Think about it -- Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev, so Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) of the month of Tevet always falls in the middle of the holiday. Even if you live in the Southern Hemisphere (where it is summer at Hanukkah time) you still light the menorah at the dark of the moon. I'd never even thought about that until I heard this song. What a great insight!

Another winter song on this CD is "In The Window," which tells how Jews in the villages of Europe (and also today) lit their menorahs on the windowsill. The song goes through lighting the eight candles of Hanukkah and how they reflect onto the newly-fallen snow in a mellow, reflective tune that is very catchy. It's another counting-to-8 song, too.

Not all the songs are so serious. There's plenty of fun and some silliness here, too. The "Hanukkah Waltz" is "lighter than latkes and smoother than schmaltz," and you can "kiss the maydl with the ladle" (Mom in the kitchen?) before you do "The Hanukkah Hop." If you are a gullible little kid who falls for the tale of the "Dance of the Leftover Latkes" your older siblings tell you, then at least "We've Gotta Lotta Latkes."

The last number on this CD, "Hanukkah Remembered," is an instrumental medley of all the old favorites -- enjoyed by the parents after the kids have fallen asleep at last. All in all, it's a wonderful CD -- highly recommended!