Review of Latke’s First Hanukkah

by Shoshana Flax
Nov 06, 2023 | Filed in Book Reviews

Latke’s First Hanukkah Latke’s First Hanukkah
by Alan Silberberg; illus. by the author
Preschool    Viking    16 pp.
10/23    9780593623169    $7.99
e-book ed.  9780593623183    $7.99

In this eight-nights-of-Hanukkah counting book, Silberberg (Meet the Latkes, rev. 11/18) simplifies his signature absurdity for the board book set. Latkes celebrate and count with anthropomorphized applesauce, which argues with the sour cream; dreidels who “drop by, dizzy”; and sufganiyot who are “full of joy (and jelly).” Illustrations are bold and color-saturated (one includes dreidel letters out of order). Loose-lined latkes’ expressive eyes show them as variously rapt or overwhelmed by it all. An intro to Hanukkah that’s sure to grab the attention of small…fry.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

Shoshana Flax

Shoshana Flax, associate editor of The Horn Book, Inc., is a former bookseller and holds an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University. She has served on the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and Sydney Taylor Book Award committees.

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