FICTION

Way Too Many Latkes: A Hanukkah in Chelm

by Linda GLASER
illus. by Aleksandar Zolotic. 32p. Kar-Ben. Aug. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781512420920; pap. $7.99. ISBN 9781512420937.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2—Faigel, the best latke maker in the town of Chelm, has forgotten her recipe on the first night of Hanukkah, so her husband Shmuel goes to ask the wise rabbi for help. The rabbi is so hungry that he tells Shmuel Faigel should use everything—all the potatoes, all the eggs, all the onions—to make her perfect golden latkes. The predictable result is way too many latkes and not enough mouths to eat them, until the whole village is invited "to bring one mouth each. On Hanukkah, that's what mouths are for." In spite of a rather thin plot, the use of folkloric phrasing and humorous patter moves the story along, with a few typical Chelmish misunderstandings thrown in for good measure. Digital cartoon illustrations depict an Old World scene with big-eyed expressive characters.
VERDICT This story has enough humor and appeal to find a place on most holiday shelves.
Reviewed by Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library
When Faigel forgets how to make potato pancakes for Hanukkah, the hungry rabbi's advice leads to more latkes than any one person can eat. They solve the problem by inviting all the villagers to celebrate together. The original tale reads like a traditional Chelm story; the illustrations, which set the tale in what looks like early-twentieth-century Eastern Europe, have a more modern Disney-cartoon vibe.
 , Jun 01, 2018

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