As the Festival of Lights begins, there are many traditions that take place during these special days. One of them is making latkes to commemorate the miracle of one day's lamp oil lasting for eight days and nights. These potato pancakes are a staple in the Hanukkah celebration.
In Leslie Kimmelman's book, The Runaway Latkes, she takes a spin on the original story of the Gingerbread Man. Much like the pesky Gingerbread Man who does not want to get eaten, these latkes run all over town saying "Big and round, crisp and brown, off we roll to see the town! And YOU can't catch us!".
In this story, a young girl named Rebecca is making potato pancakes at her synagogue for the big Hanukkah party that night. Her latkes have been voted the best in town! As she drops each one into the hot oil, she sings a song. All of a sudden, the latkes come to life and jump out of the oil singing their taunting tune. She can't believe her eyes! She chases them all through the town, only to be joined by the rabbi, cantor, two boys, the mayor and two police officers! These sassy latkes just won't slow down, until they come to the Applesauce River. Uh oh! Will she catch them in time for the big party?
I had never read this book before and really enjoyed it. I admit that I'm not as familiar with the traditions of Hanukkah as maybe I should be. This book gave a wonderful insight to this time honored tradition of making potato pancakes in oil. Not only was it a fun story, but very informative, too! The note at the beginning of the book gives a brief history of the celebration and the last page even gives you Rebecca's famous recipe. One that is sure to please!
Read on, friends...
