Brad

Hanukkah is a Middle Eastern holiday taking place on December 21^st and lasting for eight days and seven nights. This is the celebration honoring the Jews battle against the Greeks for the right to celebrate their own religion. The main event in Hanukkah is the lighting of the menorah which symbolizes the eight days of Hanukkah, but also the burning light in the temple of the Jews. Every night of Hanukkah you get one present. One toy that probably is the most given is the dreidel, but at one time in history the dreidel was more than a toy, but away to study religion without getting caught. People would spin the dreidel and on each side was a verse or saying of the Torah, the Jewish bible. If they got caught the Greeks would merely think the Dreidel was a toy and let them carry on. You may see gelts, or the chocolate coins wrapped in gold, in a Jewish kids hand, because their grandparents give this to them for an enjoyment for the holiday. So here at school everyone could make their own menorah and while the kids are working the teacher could pass out gelts to everyone, and talk to them about Hanukkah at the same time. At lunch time we could give free ice cream to everyone as a present for each day of Hanukkah. "I think the kids call it Chrismukkah - a unique modern day holiday celebration that combines Hanukkah and Christmas for those families that have members of the Christian and/or Jewish persuasion." This is described here by CK. This is a new up coming holiday all the kids are celebrating these days.

Hey have you ever had a book that you just fall in love with it the first page you read, well that kind of book is Among the Free by Margaret Haddix, who has made many other books from the Shadow Children series, books about, and for children.
The story takes place in the future at the Population Police Academy. The Population Police Academy is the authority of the future which kills every third child in America, because there is not enough food, no form of government, and no freedom or money. Luke, a poor stable boy who works for the Population Police, who was brought their by his family hoping to be safe, but there is only one thing, he is a third child also. He is scared every minute of his life, but one very unfortunate day Luke happens to be chosen by the sergeant to go around the local towns to issue new I.D.s to all the citizens. He begins to knock on a house, home to a weak old lady, and he tells her to report to the local park to get a new I.D. But she refuses and the sergeant is brought over and she still refuses so the sergeant tells Luke to bring her in the town and he wanted Luke to shoot her, to prove to the people the Population Police don't play around. Well an outbreak starts when Luke begins to shoot her, this is Luke's chance to run, so he does, he ends up in the forest and find a cave in to stay the night in. Luke can hear voices and wonders did the population police lose the fight. Could this mean a breakthrough an insurgency, a revolution, could Luke be free to know more tune in next time for my next book talk. Here is a summary of the book.
http://www.librarything.com/