Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

The word “shtetl” doesn’t appear in Marilyn Hirsh’s Potato pancakes all around, a Hanukkah tale, but the plot is obviously set in that world. The central figure is Samuel the peddler, who arrives on the first night of Hanukkah to a small and happy village, where the children are playing outside. He is welcome in the first house he knocks the door on and even accepted as the person to make the traditional Hanukkah latke, while the others argue about which recipe is the best to use. His way of cooking it is communal; he lets everyone suggest to add an ingredient, so by the end they have pretty rich latkes.

The book’s appendices include a one page description of Hanukkah and a recipe attributed to the grandmothers in the story. I enjoyed the sepia illustration drawn by the author and printed in brown, grey and yellow. The peddler looks like a bit the archetypal, patriarchal G-d image. His jolly manners and integrative method make the story fun to read as well. It is cheerful book, not just for 4-8 year old children, for whom it is written for.