All the Lights in the Night - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Based on the experiences of his grandfather and great-uncle's escape from Russia in 1914, Levine's story of two courageous boys should appeal to children. It is almost Hanukkah when brothers Moses and Benjamin flee the pogroms in their small village for Palestine, where their older brother lives. They travel by cart, train, and finally ship, through a number of trials and dangers. Along the way their spirits are sustained by telling the story of Hanukkah to each other, and by their grandmother's lamp. Given to them by their mother with only enough oil to last for a single night, it recreates the Hanukkah miracle by providing enough light for the entire journey. When the captain of the ship on which they are to sail claims they have only enough money for one ticket, they pay for the second ticket with the lamp. The boys mourn its loss, but then realize that they have All the Lights in the Night. Ransome's oil paintings capture the drama of the journey, especially the boys' encounters with the train conductor and the sea captain. They also show the warm relationship between the brothers. Good to read aloud, the story should prove popular for intergenerational sharing, especially in families in which grandparents or great-grandparents emigrated at a young age. --Susan Giffard, Englewood Public Library, NJ
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