Happy Chanukah

Happy Chanukah

Happy Chanukah (or Hanukkah) to all of our Mixed-Up Files friends who celebrate!  We love this time of year when social media is filled with pictures of delicious sufganiyot and beautiful candles in the menorah. (Yesterday, a friend posted her creation: sushi in the shape of a menorah. Brilliant.)

Hanukkah’s eight-day celebration commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Maccabees recaptured it from the Greeks in the 2nd century BCE. It’s also about the miracle of the oil, and how just a tiny bit lasted for eight days.

I think we can all use the inspiration of that triumph and that magic right now, no matter what holidays we celebrate.

If you’re searching for gifts, look no further than this list of terrific books written by Jewish authors. Adding on to that list, don’t forget A Place at the Table, by Laura Shovan and Saadiya Faruqi.

A PLACE AT THE TABLE

Heather Murphy Capps
Heather Murphy Capps has always had a deep appreciation for comfort and elegance. She and Claudia would have run out of money quickly together but would absolutely have been on the same page about taxis and nice restaurants. And of course, solving mysteries about beautiful art. That said, Heather also appreciates Jamie’s love of complication, which is why she spent several years living in rural Kenya and then became a television news reporter, which involved standing for hours in the middle of hurricanes and political battles. Now she’s raising middle-grade readers and writing for them. She loves to read and write books with lots of great science, magic, mystery, and adventure. Heather is the communications coordinator for Mixed-Up Files, as well as creator/curator for our We Need Diverse MG series. She is committed to creating more diversity in publishing.