A Dragon Called Spark: A Hanukkah Story by Lily Murray, illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman (Kalaniot Books, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Eva’s adjusting to a new home as Hanukkah is approaching. She sees children playing outside her window and feels lonely, comforting herself that she still has her little dragon named Spark. The first Hanukkah candle is lit and placed in the window, and the next day a neighbor named Charlie comments on it, promising to look for more. The next night, the family takes some latkes and jelly donuts to Charlie’s house, and the kids get to know each other better. Eva tells Charlie about Spark, and Charlie finds that he can see Spark, too! At the park the next day, Eva overhears Charlie telling other kids about Spark and worries they are laughing at her, but Charlie assures her they all want to see the dragon. Eva uses her storytelling talents to help them all find their own dragons, and much to her surprise, by the final night of Hanukkah, she and Spark are surrounded by a new group of friends–both human and dragon. Includes additional information about Hanukkah.

Hanukkah traditions are skillfully woven into this story about making friends in a new place and the power of imagination, play, and stories. Kids can decide if they think the dragons are real or imaginary and look for evidence for either argument in the text and the illustrations. This would make a great companion to A Dragon for Hanukkah by Sarah Mlynowski.

Dasher and the Polar Bear by Matt Tavares (Candlewick, 40 pages, ages 4-8). In her spare time before Christmas Eve, Dasher loves going on adventures. One night she sees the Northern Lights and flies toward them for a better view. When she lands, she encounters a large polar bear named George who scares her at first, but who turns out to be a kind friend who’s intrigued by her flying. When he tries it out, though, he lands with a huge splash in the icy sea. When Dasher gets home, she tells her mother about George, wondering why Christmas magic doesn’t work for everyone. Her mother assures her that it does, just in different ways, and Dasher gets to see what she means on Christmas Eve. After emptying his bag, Santa heads for George’s home, where he offers the polar bear a ride in the sleigh, which George describes as “exhilarating!” and “positively unforgettable!” Back home, Dasher tells her mother that seeing George so happy was her favorite part of Christmas Eve.

This sequel to Dasher and Dasher Can’t Wait for Christmas provides another satisfying holiday tale with amazing illustrations of reindeer, Santa, the Northern Lights, and George, a new character with a hilariously rich vocabulary. Fans of the other Dasher books will not be disappointed.

The Snowball Fight by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Clarion Books, 48 pages, ages 3-8). Neighborhood friends enjoy a snow day that starts with the creation of two forts armed with plenty of snowballs. After lobbing these at each other for a while, one of the forts gets buried in snow that falls off a nearby roof, creating the perfect conditions for sledding. From there, it’s time to go inside for a cookie and hot chocolate break, but three marshmallows floating side by side in the cocoa remind the friends that they never built a snowman. Back outside they go to enjoy the final hours of their snow day.

This author-illustrator team never disappoints, and their latest creation comes at a perfect time, with 3-6 inches in the forecast here for tomorrow. The rhyming text is simple but catchy, and would be equally fun to listen to or to use for some reading practice, while the simple illustrations perfectly captures the chilly fun of playing in the snow, and the cozy warmth of heading inside.

The Old Sleigh by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey (Norton Young Readers, 48 pages, ages 4-8). The Pumphrey brothers are back again with a holiday follow-up to The Old Truck and The Old Boat. The sleigh in this story is used to transport firewood in a small town, a boy and his dad working together to chop it, load the sleigh, and deliver it to the delighted townspeople who use it for warmth and light. But when the town grows, so do the loads of wood until one day, the old sleigh breaks in half. While Dad repairs it, the boy makes his own small sled so that he can continue to bring wood to his favorite customers. Finally, the old sleigh is repaired, and the work continues. The last page shows the old sleigh, now painted the same red as the boy’s sled, with a driver who looks like a grown-up version of the boy, delivering wood in the “small city.”

This deceptively simple story celebrates community, winter, and the circle of life as the town grows, but the boy and his father continue to serve their community, bringing both actual and metaphorical warmth and light with their firewood deliveries. While not specifically a holiday book, this has a definite December vibe, and would make a great gift or read-aloud in the last few weeks of school before vacation.