[.ca] The Trees of the Dancing Goats (ISBN 0689838573)

From Amazon.com:
Polacco has a warm, colorful illustrative style that has enriched her numerous other works such as Babushka Baba Yaga and I Can Hear the Sun. Here she applies it to what at first seems the simple story of a Jewish girl, Trisha, and her Christian neighbors, whose bout with scarlet fever at Christmas threatens to ruin Trisha's Hanukkah. Trisha and her family respond with a loving gesture that is rewarded in kind.

One of the Best Holiday Stories!!!:
This is a great holiday story. It teaches people a wonderful meaning of what the holidays are about! It is about a girl whose family is from Russia and they celebrate Hannukah. The little girl's best friend celebrates Christmas. One day she goes to her house and finds that the girl and her family has scarlet fever! A deadly disease. It is also very contagious. The jewish girl's friend is upset because they are to weak to set up a tree. Well, the jewish family is the only one not sick so they cut small trees, make food, and then take them to their neighbors! They soon get well and the christian family makes them a monorah. They celebrate the last day of Hannukah together. It is a wonderful sory of how two religions can get together and have a great holiday season!

My favorite Polacco story.:
This book is a rare find. Patricia Polacco grabs the readers interest with her usual warmth. The story tells of a winter on the farm when most of the rest of the families in the village have come down with Scarlet Fever. As Trisha and her family prepare for the upcoming Hanukkah celebration, they realize that the other families will not be well enough to celebrate Christmas. Trisha's family decides that they will take a special holiday dinner and decorations made from their Hanukkah presents to the other families homes to surprise them. The example of unselfish giving is one every child should be exposed to. I have read this book to my first grade class each year for the last three years. Each time I read it, there will be at least a couple of children who begin to cry. I cannot read this story without getting a lump in my throat. I recommend this book to EVERYONE!

Our family's favorite December holiday book:
A few years ago I was lucky enough to overhear our school librarian recommend this book to another parent at the school book fair. There was only one copy left so I took it. Now, each December I get out our family's box of holiday books and this is the first one we read. My youngest child handed me a tissue before I started reading it last December! She knows how this book touches my heart and warms my soul. I have given this book to family and friends ... young and old. Great book to spread the message of what is really important -- at the holidays especially.

One of my all-time favorites!:
Drawing upon her own family's experience, Patricia Polacco shares a story of true holiday giving. Her Russian grandparents teach the meaning of friendship and miracles as they relate the story of Hanukkah and as they reach out to their Christian neighbors who are suffering from a deadly epidemic of scarlet fever. They adapt the symbols of their Jewish celebration to bring Christmas to those who are too ill to create their own festivities. Polacco's colorful illustrations capture the warmth and spirit of the characters and do much to enhance this wonderful story.

Awesome book!:
This is a great book! I will read it to my 4th and 5th grade class this year and discuss the love and open-mindedness of the Russian family. This book gives children and adults a genuine example of how they can honor others' beliefs and traditions.