Eric A Kimmel

"Bubba Brayna makes the best latkes in the village, and on the first night of Hanukkah, the scent of her cooking wakes a hungry, adorable bear from his hibernation. He lumbers into town to investigate, and Bubba Brayna--who does not see or hear very well--mistakes him for her rabbi. She welcomes the bear inside to play the dreidel game, light the menorah, and enjoy a scrumptious meal. However, after her well-fed guest leaves, there's a knock at the...

Stranded on an iceberg on his way to America, Simon remembers his mother's parting words and lights the first candle on his menorah while praying for a miracle, which soon arrives in the form of a friendly polar bear.

A freshly baked gingerbread man escapes when he is taken out of the oven and eludes a number of animals until he meets a clever fox.

Anansi the spider plans to trick Turtle into catching a fish for his dinner, but Turtle proves to be smarter and ends up with a free meal. Explains the origin of spider webs.

When Anansi the spider invites Turtle to a party just to play a trick on him, Turtle gets revenge at a party of his own.

Grandma Mina's Persian carpet sends twins Scarlett and Sam to Egypt in the time of Moses, where they come to understand that every Jew was part of the first Passover, and just what made it different from all other nights.

Scarlett and Sam go back to ancient Israel, where they find themselves on a ship with Jonah, who is determined not to be a prophet.

Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel visits the Emperor, leaving a new housemaid to prepare for his Hanukkah party, but returns to find that she has misused the clay man he created. Includes historical and cultural notes.

An original story, based on the Joha tales of the Arabic-speaking world, in which a hapless man finds a wishing stick that brings him nothing but bad luck. Includes an author's note about the history of Joha tales.