“Who can retell the things that befell us?
Who can count them?
In every age a hero or sage
Came to our aid.”
These words of the popular Hanukkah song, “Mi Yimalel” (Who Can Retell) pose a challenge to all of us: Who can retell?
Now all of us can!
This Hanukkah when your family lights the menorah and is enjoying the dancing flames, PJ Library invites you to tell the story of Hanukkah – and create your own stories – using special Hanukkah storytelling cubes that subscribers are being mailed as a 2023 Hanukkah gift.
How to Put Your Cubes Together
Assembling the large and small cubes is very easy. Watch the video below to see just how to do it – no tape or glue required!
How to Play
Tell the Hanukkah Story:
After you’re done reading the Hanukkah story, your family can assemble the large cube — which features the same six illustrations — to tell the Hanukkah story in your own words. (Can’t find your booklet? No worries – watch an animated version of the Hanukkah story below):
Make Up Your Own Stories:
Set your imaginations spinning like a dreidel! Use the eight small cubes to play a fun family game and invent your own Hanukkah-inspired stories. You can assign one person to be the storyteller or create a story as a group.
Solo storyteller:
Have one player roll the cubes and tell a story using all the faceup pictures (“Once there was a robot who had never celebrated Hanukkah … ”). The purple cube establishes your story’s main character. Good stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
TIP: Before you start your tale, take a minute to organize your cubes — use two or three pictures to begin your story, two or three for a middle, and two or three to bring your story to a satisfying ending.
Group storytelling:
Divide the cubes among the players. Take turns! Have one person roll a cube and begin the story. On each player’s turn, have them roll a cube and add to the story based on the faceup picture.
Wishing you a happy and creative Hanukkah, one story after another!
More
Browse Hanukkah Books
Sharing Hanukkah at School
November 10, 2023