Since having children, I have developed a heightened sensitivity to messes large and small. Perhaps popular misconceptions of motherhood are to blame. For example, before becoming a mother, I was often exposed to videos and images suggesting that baking with young children would involve picture-perfect moments filled with little hands, pristine cookies, and a tolerable amount of excess flour, sprinkled playfully, but always contained to a small area on the kitchen counter.
Then I was blessed with children, a pandemic forced us inside beyond moderation, and I quickly learned about the absolute chaos that ensues when allowing toddlers to get their hands on airy flour, sticky dough, and a parent’s biggest Achilles heel in the kitchen: melted chocolate.
My deeply entrenched need to still wipe every stain, counter, mouth and face probably explains why the first time that I read “Hanukkah Pajamakkahs” (Sourcebooks, 2024), Southern California-based author Dara Henry’s debut children’s book, I huffed and puffed and reached for a wine cooler.
This time of year, there is no shortage of Hanukkah picture books. Some date back decades, while others are newly-released, and many hold young readers’ attention spans with sweet stories and illustrations about the Maccabees, bravery, latkes, dreidels, toys, and much more. Even Curious George, whose creators, Hans and Margret Rey, fled the Nazis on makeshift bicycles, has his own charming Hanukkah picture book. And then, there’s our family favorite, “Melly’s Menorah,” a 1991 classic about a family of Jewish gophers that moves into a new home.
“Hanukkah Pajamakkahs” does not solely focus on menorahs (hannukhias), toys, or food. Instead, Henry places at the forefront of the story an endearing little girl who gets into so many messes that this sweet picture book should come with its own wet wipe.
Henry places at the forefront of the story an endearing little girl who gets into so many messes that this sweet picture book should come with its own wet wipe.
The little girl, Ruthie, whom Henry told me is based on her respect for the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg (due to her resilience and pluck), is delighted when she receives a pair of pajamas the first night of Hanukkah. When Ruthie asks to wear her “pajamakkahs” all eight nights of the holiday, her mother agrees, on the condition that she can keep her robot and menorah pajamas “spotless” for the upcoming family Hanukkah party on the eighth night.
Being a child, it takes Ruthie only a few minutes to streak her new pajamas with oil from latkes she has helped prepare. Over the course of the week, those pajamas face everything from candle wax to red jelly from Hanukkah donuts. When she fell headfirst into a bowl of eggy latke mix, that’s when I reached for the wine cooler.
But Ruthie proves more easy-going and resilient than me. Never fazed by the daily mess awaiting her pajamas, she responds to every splash, streak, and spill with the kind of optimistic attitude that is hard for overwhelmed adults to appreciate, but vital for children to see.
As long as Ruthie does not see “spots” on her pajamas, as she promised her mother, she is unstoppable in her flexibility and move-forward attitude. “Hanukkah Pajamakkahs” reminded me of another beloved picture book about a character who compromises his new shoes in every conceivable way: In “I Love My White Shoes,” Pete the Cat unwittingly steps in everything from blueberries to mud in his new white sneakers. “Did Pete cry?” asks author James Dean. “Goodness, no! He kept walking along and singing his song.”
If only more adults were like Pete or Ruthie.
Picture books need not always leave adults feeling warm and cheerful after the first read. When I first sat down to read “Hanukkah Pajamakkahs,” I wondered how anyone could respond to so many stains and marks with such rose-colored glasses. But when I read the book a second time, I realized that I not only liked Ruthie, but that she seemed comfortingly familiar.
That is when it finally dawned on this tired, hardened, clean-a-holic that Ruthie reminded me of a younger version of myself — back when I was a little girl who did not worry over stains and spills because I was playful and innocent, and because I knew that my mother would magically find a way to remove those messes. It was always a comforting thought that allowed me to continue to roll in the grass or attempt that slide toward the home plate during kickball.
Perhaps that is one of the keys to Ruthie’s go-along attitude (that, and the fact that she takes her mother’s request to keep her pajamas “spotless” literally and does not view streaks or spills as “spots”): Henry conveys an unspoken, but vital message that despite loving her pajamas, Ruthie not only understands that pajamas are not permanent, but that there are also parental figures in her life who will express compassion for her messes, and hopefully, help her clean them up. An understanding heart, a pair of open arms, and a good bottle of OxiClean. Isn’t that what most children want and need from their parents?
For their part, good parents know that resilience, flexibility, and a positive eye, or what Judaism wisely describes as “Ayin Tova” (an eye that sees the positive in people and situations), are indescribably precious, especially for children. Just ask any parent who has ever had to respond to an emotional nuclear meltdown after their child accidentally stained his/her favorite lovey, pajamas or blanket. Or in my case, the fiasco that once ensued after I threw a beloved, fluffy, guinea pig stuffed animal into the washing machine and it emerged looking like a sleek torpedo with plastic eyes.
“I wanted to write a really relatable Hanukkah story, and to draw in themes that all families and people can benefit from,” Henry told me. “The biggest theme here is that life is not always going to go according to plan.” Ironically, Henry admitted that she is a big planner. “And I still struggle with that,” she admitted.
Henry, who was born in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Dallas, holds a master’s degree in Elementary Education and previously served as an elementary school teacher. “Teaching and also being a parent of three lends itself to knowing that the attention span of kids is limited, and you really have to make your points,” she said. “With picture books, you only have around 500 words, at most. I tried hard to streamline my words and utilized the illustrations as best as I could.”
Like Ruthie herself, the illustrations by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov are bold, vibrant, and larger-than-life. Whether through the extra-large book title on the cover or the illustrations that occupy as much space as possible on the pages, there is an air of “bigger is better” to “Hanukkah Pajamakkahs” that stands as an ode to Ruthie’s big personality and her huge embrace of everything that brings her joy.
Henry speaks often in classrooms, libraries and other spaces, reading her debut book and leading discussions while dressed in her own Hanukkah pajamas. “When kids see a grownup, especially an author, they see them in a box,” she observed. “When they see a grownup in pajamas and carrying a stuffed animal, it changes their perception, and they learn that grownups and professionals can still have fun.” In her presentations, Henry brings with her a custom-made stuffed animal of Patches, the lovable family dog in “Hanukkah Pajamakkahs.”
Her audience, especially children (and sometimes even teachers and parents) often attend her talks wearing their own pajamas, and activities include pretending to make latkes and discussing what her young audience loves about their own sleepwear. “Pajamas represent something so cozy,” said Henry. “They make us feel warm inside.”
When she presents in front of middle school students, Henry leads discussions related to optimism and resilience, and students write their own messages on “Spot the Positivity” bookmarks. Henry also discusses the world of publishing with older kids, who are often surprised when she tells them how many people it takes to publish a book.
Henry’s own children, ages eight, 11 and 12, hold a deeper sense of appreciation for their mother’s first picture book because, according to Henry, “they knew this was a long time coming; they’ve seen me write and write and work really hard, and get rejected as well.”
In an age in which even the achievements or blunders of children have the potential to be made public, it is more crucial than ever for younger generations to face failure, rejection and temporary regression head-on. As C.S. Lewis declared, “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” Henry also echoed this life truth when she reminded me that “it doesn’t always have to work out perfectly for it to work out.”
“Hanukkah Pajamakkahs” is bold and vibrant and deliciously messy. But whether the reader is a child or an adult, the book is a much-needed reminder that an eventful life well-lived is not always spotless.
Tabby Refael is an award-winning writer, speaker, and weekly columnist for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Follow her on X and Instagram @TabbyRefael
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