Winter Candle, this year’s Tech-Mas inspiration story, written by Jeron Ashford, has become one of my favorite winter celebration books ever. The story follows one special candle as it makes its way around the Juniper Court apartment building, lending the light that each family needs for their winter traditions.
Winter Candle has drawn us in to learn more about Havdalah ceremonies with the Danzingers, celebrate Saint Lucia’s Day with the Eriksons, and light the kinara for Kwanzaa with Donte, Jamila, and their parents…and we’re not even finished with it yet! I am loving the rich conversations and questions the book has sparked, and the opportunity to talk about different winter holidays and traditions. And with its emphasis on candles and light, the story lends itself perfectly to our Tech-Mas projects, which are focusing on light, LEDs, and circuitry this year.
Most of all, I love the way the book showcases what all of these celebrations have in common. It reminds students that we’re more alike than we are different – and what better season to celebrate that? The book is out of print, but we found our copy on Amazon (a bigger investment than I expected, but with the amount of use it’s getting this month, totally worth the price). Publishers, if you’re listening – we need more Winter Candle! This warm, inclusive story should be in libraries for little hands everywhere.
Update: It looks like the price that we found on Amazon – about $40 – is no longer available, and the price is up over $100. You could also try local bookstores, eBay, or asking your bookworm network!
fitzbetweentheshelves.com 