The Flying Latke [Hardcover]

William Steig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

When Danny's family gets together, it's a mess. Arguing. Shouting. This. That. Oy, enough already!

Yet, this Chanukah it's louder than ever, and all over a Buick. Go figure.

Go figure that when Uncle Izzy throws a latke out the window, the FBI thinks it's a UFO and the air force tries to shoot it down!

Who knew, because of a latke, that the whole family, who can't get along for five minutes, would be trapped in their house for eight days and eight nights?

Well, Arthur Yorinks and William Steig knew, for they created not only this book, but a small miracle.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Hungry from the lack of appetizers (Mother doesn't believe in them) one Chanukah, Uncle Izzy and Uncle Shecky start arguing over what kind of car cut them off recently, a Buick or a Ford. Shecky shakes a pickle so hard it bounces off Izzy's forehead, and the food fight is on. Borscht, chicken, sour cream, even the chocolate Chanukah gelt--nothing is sacred. But when one last latke soars out the window, it just keeps flying! Soon news reporters and FBI agents are swarming the house, seeking the source of the mysterious UFO. The family is stranded in the house, with almost no food, until everything blows over.

In Arthur Yorinks's fantastically wacky version of the traditional Chanukah story, the remaining plate of latkes, which, in that crowd, should have lasted "about seven and a half minutes," lasts for eight days! An all-star (or mostly-star) cast of actors and illustrators were "cast" for this unusual book, staged and photographed by Yorinks and Paul Colin. Newbery- and Caldecott-award winning illustrator William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble) provided the background art, as Yorinks and Colin digitally transferred photos of the posed actors into the illustrations. This hilarious take on the Jewish holiday, while wildly offbeat, remains true to the spirit of the Chanukah miracle; ultimately, the fighting stops and forgiveness reigns. (Ages 4 to 10) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

If the Three Stooges had played the sons of Yiddish-speaking immigrants,they might have stepped into this slick shtick. The plot features feuding relatives who start a food fight on Hanukkah and pitch a latke out the window; the latke (don't ask) is mistaken for a UFO. Characters "plotz" and "fress" and "shmooze"Aeverything but play canasta. Steig's work is far in the backgroundAliterally. Using digital techniques, Yorinks (Hey, Al) with Colin treats Steig's drawings as a theater set and collages in photos of "actors" hamming it up (you should pardon the expression). With "parts" dealt out to Steig and his wife, artists Maurice Sendak and Vladimir Radunsky as well as children's publishing folk David Saylor and Judith Rovenger, the book has the tone of an in-joke, with an equally limited appeal. Ages 5-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689825978
• ISBN-13: 978-0689825972
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,805,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Secret in-jokes in the book explained, November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Flying Latke (Hardcover)

Pssssst.... while many of the characters in the book look like photos of stock characters, upon closer look you may notice that some of the roles are played by the children's book publisher David Saylor; famed artists Maurice Sendak and Vladimir Radunsky; the illustrator William Steig; and the publisher Judith Rovenger.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wacky and warm and funny and quite unique, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Flying Latke (Hardcover)

A Hanukkah book by not one, but two, count them two, Caldecott Medal winners. Steig has been illustrating The New Yorker magazine for what? something like over 60 years! And Yorink is famous for "Hey Al" and that story about Whitefish. This is quite a unique Hanukkah book that combines pictures of real people (better than stock characters) and illustrations, and text and cartoon bubbles, to show what Hanukkah is really like in a large extended family.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, December 21, 2011

By 

Jerry Boggs - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Flying Latke (Hardcover)

I heard this story being read this week at the local public library.

The kids, and some of the adults, were truly laughing out loud.

It's light, witty and very, very funny.