{"id":5245,"date":"2020-12-13T00:01:18","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T06:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5245"},"modified":"2020-12-18T10:38:03","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T16:38:03","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-721-featuring-kevin-hawkes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=5245","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #721: Featuring Kevin Hawkes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Big or small, the task would suit Nate either way ….”<\/em>
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\nToday, I’ve got some illustrations from The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol<\/a><\/strong><\/em> (Candlewick, September 2020), a new picture book from Arthur A. Levine<\/a><\/strong> and Kevin Hawkes<\/a><\/strong>. This is what Levine describes as a pourquoi tale about the tradition of presents at Hanukkah. (You can read or listen here<\/a><\/strong> to a wonderful NPR interview with Levine about the book.) <\/p>\n

Nate Gadol is Levine’s original mythical creation \u2014 a “great big spirit,” pictured above, who makes things stretch for families in need. He made a “tiny bit of oil last eight days and nights in the far-off long ago,” but he also will keep your flower fresh for longer, keep a dam strong in a storm, or even help you hold a long note while singing \u2014 if your life depended on it. <\/p>\n

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Nate is particularly concerned with the Glaser family, who emigrate from Europe to America and spend all their money on the passage. Nate is there to multiply the tiny bit of chocolate Mrs. Glaser has for her family, which is much smaller than she had hoped it would be. And he’s there to assist the family as they themselves do all they can for their neighbors, the O’Malleys, who have a sick baby during the winter of 1881. Nate\u2014a large presence, always looming unseen in the air near the family\u2014watches as Mr. Glaser sells a bench he carves and gives the money to the O’Malleys. The Glasers now have no money left over for Hanukkah sweets. <\/p>\n

But then Nate meets an old friend, named Santa (yes, there’s some Christmas in this book too), and they strike a deal. I don’t want to give away the entire<\/em> story here, but it results in the beginning of a new tradition \u2014 presents outside each Glaser’s bedroom door. That’s right: Not just Hanukkah chocolate but “boxes with ribbons and shiny paper too.” After this, “the idea of Hanukkah presents really caught on,” Levine adding: “I mean, what could be bad about presents?” <\/p>\n

Levine spins this story with style. The text is especially rich with moments of vivid figurative language: “Nate Gadol was a great big spirit who had eyes as shiny as golden coins and a smile that was lantern-bright” and “the wind howled through the cracks like an angry cat.” Hawkes’s textured acrylic illustrations expertly capture the loving Glaser family (the body language throughout is particularly expressive), and Nate is unforgettable in his big blue coat, copper-colored hat, and leather pouch draped over his shoulder. (Betsy Bird calls him<\/a><\/strong> a “snazzy dresser.” Indeed!) And all throughout the book a type of gold foil is used to accentuate Nate and the magic he spins \u2014 subtle touches of gold (it’s not overused, promise!) that sparkle from his pouch, his hair, his eyes, and his hands when he works his miracles, large and small. <\/p>\n

In a closing note, Levine writes that “present giving on Hanukkah is a peculiarly American innvotation” and that, even though as a child he received presents at Hanukkah, he felt:<\/p>\n

… the challenge of being a Jewish child during Christmas. It was hard not to feel what we now call ‘erasure’ as advertisements, holiday specials, and school concerts made the time of year seem like one reserved for Christians. … In my memories … I have often wished that we could build up a bit more mythology too. … I wanted to do that with a story.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here are a couple more spreads from this entertaining new addition to the holiday canon, a book I think readers will embrace and a story that will be read for many Hanukkahs (and Christmases) to come.
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“A happy handshake and a few minutes later, each friend had helped the other. …”<\/em>
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“After that, the idea of Hanukkah presents really caught on …”<\/em>
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\nTHE HANUKKAH MAGIC OF NATE GADOL. Text copyright \u00a9 2020 by Arthur A. Levine. Illustrations copyright \u00a9 2020 by Kevin Hawkes and reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n

* * * Jules’s Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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I hope all of you out there are safe and healthy. <\/p>\n

1)<\/strong><\/font> Hearing happy news for my friends. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Work is starting to slow down, and I see a holiday break ahead. <\/p>\n

3)<\/strong><\/font> I started reading Hilary McKay’s<\/a><\/strong> The Skylarks’ War<\/em> out loud to my daughters, and I’m really glad I did. It is an excellent novel and a wonderful read-aloud.
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\n4)<\/strong><\/font> Walks. <\/p>\n

5)<\/strong><\/font> Playing Sufjan Stevens’s<\/a><\/strong> epic (and sometimes bizarre and sometimes beautiful and sometimes both) 2012 Christmas album<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n

6)<\/strong><\/font> And Sam Phillips’s wonderful holiday EP<\/a><\/strong> is streaming now. Have I ever played this below for you? It’s her rendition of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” She puts it in a minor key, and it’s gorgeous. (But then I’m also fond of angel imagery, and she has chosen just<\/em> the right verses here.)
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