No, I’ve never personally eaten a latke though I’ve downed a few latke-like potato pancakes in my time and do have two Jewish sisters. After reading Leslie Kimmelman’s “The Runaway Latkes, I’m not only more familiar with this tater dish but have some frozen latkes waiting for me in the freezer. Latkes are a type of potato pancake prepared with grated potatoes, eggs, salt and sometimes a bit of green onions. Once formed, they are fried in heated oil until brown on both sides. After paper towels absorb the excess oil, they may be served with applesauce or sour cream. Today Hanukkah latkes are cooked in oil to commemorate the miracle of one day’s lamp oil burning for eight days and nights after the Maccabees’ victory over King Antiochus.
Spudopsis
Young Rebecca Bloom is making latkes at synagogue for the big Hanukkah party. She makes the best latkes around. “Big and round, crisp and brown, I fry latkes by the pound!”
Amazingly three latkes jump from the oil to the floor singing:” Big and round, crisp and brown, off we roll to see the town! And YOU can’t catch us.”
Needing these latkes for the party Rebecca takes off in pursuit joined by her cat. The rabbi sees the chase and joins in. The cantor takes notice and joins the latke chase also. Boys playing football outside try to stop the latkes with a football but miss. They join the chase.
Soon the laughing latkes are being pursued by Rebecca, her cat, the rabbi, the cantor, the boys, the mayor, and two police officers. The rolling, rollicking, rhyming latkes head straight toward the river, not heeding the warning that the river will make them wet and soggy. Then a modern day Hanukkah miracle happens. You’ll have to read the book to learn the miraculous and delicious details.
My Take
This cute adaptation of the runaway gingerbread man might be read gingerly. A search on Amazon turned up more stories of runaway foods: rice cakes, pickles, gingerbread girl, Canun gingerbread boy, Hawaiian gingerbread man, a Matzah man, the Matzo Ball boy, and even a runaway dinner. I think the familiar theme adds to the story’s enjoyable and endearing quality.
Kids like repetition. Tell one a funny joke and he/she will want to hear it again and again. In this story the repetition of the latkes’ rhyming refrain is anticipated the by readers and makes a great opportunity for them to join in on the reading. The repeated taunting by the smug latkes makes their ultimate comeuppance all the more delicious.
The artwork is reasonably good though the faces of the characters could be more expressive and the colors brighter and more saturated. I think it’s funny that every character, even the dog and the cat, have the same round, latke-shaped face. Also, except for Rebecca, every character seems to have eaten too many latkes. It’s no wonder the runaway latkes could outrun them all.
The children who shared this book with me did enjoy looking at the pictures of the lakes. It’s funny that the runaway latkes are round on some pages and elongated on others.
The latke recipe on the last page makes a perfect conclusion.
Some of the more challenging words in the book: synagogue, crispiest, sizzle, kitchen, amazement, repeated, rabbi, trilled, cantor, celebration, knock, Hanukkah, stomach, proclaimed, mayor, partner, empty, questioning, applesauce, soggy, listened, miracle, perfect, kerplunk, heavenly, delicious, dreidels, noshed, ingredients, mixture.
Though most sources rate this book K-3, none of the third graders I work with could read this book independently.
· Reading level: Ages 4-8
· Hardcover: 32 pages
· Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (Sept. 2000)
· Language: English
Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
Recommended:
