Customer Reviews

Papa's Latkes

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Michelle Edwards treats us to everything but the actual recipe for latkes in her latest book, "Papa's Latkes" (Candlewick Press).

Two little girls have loving memories of their mother and especially Mama's latkes, now that it's Chanukah-their first one without her. And Papa is determined the holiday will be celebrated as usual.

The girls strive to keep everything the way Mama had it, but sometimes our best isn't good enough. Although the menorah is polished, the tablecloth Mama embroidered with menorahs and dreidels and stars of David is set out, and sour cream, applesauce, and jam are spooned into the green glass bowls Grandma Yetta had carried with her from Poland, there are only three plates on the table now, instead of four.

Will Papa's latkes be "poetry on a platter" the way he announced? Can Chanukah ever be the same?

The richness is, indeed, in the details, and Edwards supplies many family remembrances throughout that touch the heart, while Stacey Schuett, enriches the text with spare but colorful illustrations.(You'll especially love the last double-page spread.)

Edwards walks a fine line here without losing her balance-"Papa's Latkes" is touching without being overpoweringly sad. Close the book and you'll swear you can smell potatoes, onions, and oil.

(A minor point: I think the editor erred in not including a latke recipe. Non-Jewish children reading the book may want their mamas to make them.)

This is a gentle story well done.

Audrey B. Baird, author Storm Coming! and A Cold Snap! (both by Boyds Mills Press, www.boydsmillspress.com) and editor/publisher of Once Upon A Time (http://onceuponatimemag.com), a 32-page national support magazine for writers and illustrators of children's literature.

I read *Papa's Latkes* and found myself crying. It's a beautiful book that reads wonderfully aloud. The images are shining and transcendent. The emotions are strong and true. For anyone who has suffered the loss of a parent, it's a book to wrap around you and take comfort from. *Papa's Latkes* is filled with the hope of days when grief lessens and the strength of family.

I sniffled as I read this story of a family celebrating their first Chanukah without their mother. Although the oldest daughter tries to guide her father through her late mother's system of making latkes, when they are done the latkes aren't as well-prepared as her mother's were, and the girl is heart-broken. By the end of the dinner, though, the daughter learns that continuing their tradition is the best way to honor their mother.

I agree with a previous reviewer- this could be too much for a young child under 7. Certainly, this doesn't beat you over the head with sadness, but the memories of the mother before she became too sick and the obvious loss the children still feel are conveyed very effectively. I read this in my late thirties, and even though I have yet to lose a parent, this struck a chord with me.

A very good book- handle with care.

I should start by saying that this will be my first Chanukah without my mother. I was looking through the childrens books in the library for some books for my four year old daughter, and the title of the book made me take it, since it is almost Chanukah. When I got home, I read the book, and cried. I will not be reading this book to my daughter. Maybe in a few years. The only children I feel this is appropriate for are those in the same situation--those that have lost their mother (or father).

This is a wonderful story about a moving on after a loved one has died. This moving story is about a father and his two daughters and how they celebrate Hanukkah after the little girls' mother's passing. The girls each grieve in their own way. The story really focuses on the latkes and their is no mention of the meaning of Hanukkah or the symbology of latkes or candles. Still it is a poignant story that leaves you feeling like celebrating the holiday.

Stacey Schuett provides the warm, realistic drawings to this picturebook story of a family facing their first Chanukah without their mother. When their father comes home with a bag of potatoes for latkes, Selma is worried: Mama always made the Chanukah latkes: how can they make them without her? Papa's Latkes is a gently told and highly recommended tale of family, loss and moving on.