Editorial Review

“Engineer Ari returns for another holiday story in Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap. Ari drives a train in 1890s Ottoman Palestine, when the 55-mile rail link between Jerusalem and Jaffa, on the Mediterranean coast, opened.

It’s almost the start of Hanukkah and Ari has barely enough time to drive the train from Jerusalem back to Jaffa to light the first candle together with friends.

As he makes his way through Jerusalem to the train station, he meets up with kids who recount the Hanukkah story.

Then, outside Jerusalem, Ari’s train nearly hits a camel sitting on the tracks. Slamming on the brakes, Ari stops short of the camel but his Hanukkah supplies fo flying and the caboose jumps the track.

The Bedouim owner of the camel comes to Ari’s aid, and so occurs an unusual first-night Hanukkah celebration and a new friendship.

And it all happens right at Modi’in, the home of the Macabbees, where the story of Hanukkah began.

With delightful illustrations, this is an upbeat, heart-warming story.”—Chicago Jewish Star