Latkes And Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story

"Do you like latkes and applesauce?" begins this book. "No", said our 4 year old as I drew breath to read the next sentence and continue "Of course you do! Who but a fool could say no to such a question?"

It's a lovely book, and everybody else in the family does like latkes and applesauce, but the poor child felt gratuitously insulted and personally singled out.

I would recommend this charming story of family love and generosity to individuals who are, in fact, fond of latkes and applesauce.

Republished 2022 with different illustrator and publisher.
This story is about sharing and kindness in a time of heavy snow and an important holiday that celebrates the overcoming of tyranny and a miracle for the oppressed. When the family is without the means to make the traditional foods and has little provisions for themselves, they take in and care for two starveling animals. When the final day of celebration comes, the snow stops and the potatoes for the latkes and a few apples to make sauce are found only because of the small animals.
Included at the end of the tale is the original tale of the oil supply that lasted beyond reason.
The illustrations by Kris Easler are clear, brilliantly colored, well executed, and visually show more informative.
Every public and school library needs a copy as well as the usual gifting!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Charlesbridge via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

A cute story about a Jewish family who receive a Hanukkah “miracle” with the help of their furry friends.

The Menashe family – Papa, Mama, Rebecca and Ezra – love eating latkes and applesauce during Hanukkah. However, this particular year, a blizzard begins on the day of Hanukkah and they have to make do with the soup they have. When the blizzard shows no signs of slowing down day by day, Papa still urges his family to have faith. On the eighth day, their two adopted animals – a cat and a dog, both of whom entered their lives just at the beginning of the blizzard – show them how their faith was justified.

This is an updated reissue of the holiday classic first published in 1990. The story is very sweet and reinforces the show more ideals of faith, family time, and traditions. I loved the old-fashioned values of the story and also how the cat and the dog receive their names.

As I am not that familiar with Jewish customs, I thought I would feel confused with some of the traditions. (I didn’t even know what a latke was!) However, the book is written in such a wonderful way that I found it very easy to sail through the traditional Jewish aspects. The author’s note at the end of the story is the perfect addition to the book as it provides details on Hanukkah, latke and applesauce, and even on driedels, which the kids play during the blizzard.

The language is very good for beginner level readers. Each page has about 2-3 paragraphs of simple text.

The illustrations are really cute and perfect for the story.

The book would be great for ages 4-8. Recommended for all who want to read a sweet story about a holiday “miracle”.

4.25 stars

My thanks to Charlesbridge Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever!, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun. show less

This was a wonderful story. Where I live, we do not get Jewish stories very often, so I am always excited to learn something new. This story is sweet and hopeful with wonderful illustrations. It is a fun read weather you celebrate Hanukkah or not.

I admit I could barely focus on the narrative of Fran Manushkin's ( http://www.franmanushkin.com/) Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story, because the illustrations (by Robin Spowart) were so gorgeous that they grabbed my attention. See the first one below. Even showing a blizzard it using such soft tones and shapes that you can imagine (or not) how warm they are later, when depicting the family around candlelight. After I went through the whole book and admired every one of the paintings I went back and read the story. That is equally beautiful. It is about a poor family, who barely has enough to eat and cannot get out procuring more food, because of the snowstorm. But their generosity extends to a stray cat and dog wondering in to show more their house. Their good deeds and hearts are rewarded by the end, of course. Suggested age group is 4-8 year olds. show less

A beautiful story about one family's miraculous Hanukkah. A wonderfully illustrated children's book.

During Hanukkah, a family finds themselves snowed in with nothing to eat after their crops were covered with the snow. On the first two nights of Hanukkah, a cat and a dog came to the house, and the children brought them inside. For the next five nights, the family struggled to find enough food to eat. On the last night of Hanukkah, the dog and cat went outside and found potatoes and apples under all the snow. The family made latkes and applesauce and played dreidel to celebrate Hanukkah and the gifts of potatoes and apples.