Meet the Latkes

The Latke family is celebrating the Festival of Lights. Yes, they’re actual potato pancakes; no, they’re not going to eat themselves (the menu calls for another traditional treat, jelly-filled donuts called sufganiyot). Grandpa Latke takes it upon himself to tell the story of “CHHA-nukah!” to Lucy Latke, but his narrative quickly goes off the rails: the heroes are yarmulke-wearing “mega-bees,” not Maccabees; their enemy is “alien potatoes” instead of Antiochus; a dreidel is turned into a Trojan Horse; and the tongue twister “tattered tater tyrants” makes a totally gratuitous appearance. Thank goodness the family dog, Applesauce (also a latke), is on hand to set the story straight. Readers who like their humor broad and goofy will lap this up, and Silberberg (Pond Scum) makes it extra tasty with sprawling and genially messy cartooning that looks like it was created by someone hopped up on chocolate gelt. Ages 3–5. [em]Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary. (Oct.) [/em]