Product Description

A family prepares to celebrate Chanukah for the first time since Mama died — in this heartfelt, bittersweet tale that will resonate with anyone who has ever faced an empty chair at the holiday table.

Three plates, Selma reminded herself. Just three plates this Chanukah.

For Selma and her little sister, Dora, this is their first Chanukah without Mama. When Papa comes home carrying a big bag of potatoes and all the ingredients for latkes, Selma is worried. Mama always made the Chanukah latkes. Could they make them without her? In Michelle Edwards's poignant story, illustrated with Stacey Schuett's warmly glowing artwork, Selma comes to realize that while Chanukah — and especially latkes — will never be the same without Mama, Selma can still celebrate, and will always remember.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2129858 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-23
• Released on: 2004-09-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780763607791
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2–This is the first Chanukah since Selma's mother died, and she and her younger sister carefully follow all of Mama's traditions as they polish the menorah and tell Papa exactly how the latkes should be made. When they turn out fat, brown, and lumpy instead of light and crisp, Selma can't be brave anymore and begins to cry. After a comforting "Skolnick family hug," Papa and the girls continue their evening with candle-lighting and prayers. The poignant text with touches of humor is nicely matched with warm and richly colored oil paintings. Papa is an especially appealing character; his efforts to be jolly don't keep him from offering heartfelt comfort and love to his daughters when they need it. A touching and uplifting story.–E. M.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. This is the first Chanukah since Mama's death, and as Selma and her younger sister ready themselves for the holiday, they can't help but remember the fun the family had preparing in years gone by. Then Papa arrives home with latke ingredients: potatoes, oil, and onions enough "to keep you crying till Passover." But can they make latkes without Mama? Schuett's thickly painted, double-page illustrations hark back decades to a simpler time. Each blends beautifully with quiet, unsentimental words that express grief, unspoken sadness, and fear of the future as well as the love the characters share. This is a stirring, tender portrait of beloved children and a single father doing his best to help his daughters celebrate their mother's memory by building new traditions atop fondly remembered old ones: "Happy Chanukah, Mama." Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
The recent death of Selma and Dora's Mama clouds the happy, celebratory mood of Chanukah. Papa, who is cheerfully determined to carry on-with the girls' doubting help-will make Mama's latkes, the highlight of each year's holiday. Each step in the recipe and in getting the house ready with Mama's polished menorah, embroidered tablecloth, and special blue plates reminds Selma of how much she misses Mama and how delicious her latkes smelled and tasted. Sitting down to Papa's lumpy mud pie-looking version at a table set for only three, brings Selma to tears. Consoling hugs and words from her father and younger sister help her continue the tradition of lighting the menorah, celebrating as Mama would have expected. Illustrations in tones of murky green, blue, and tan gouache accentuate the mournful mood and expressions of the characters in this melancholy story set with a 1940's-style background. While the holiday is one of remembrance, mixed themes of death, grief, and festive preparation make this painful story more suitable for the section on death and dying than for the holiday shelf. (Picture book. 4-6) (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Papa's Latkes by Michelle Edwards
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.

A book for everyone
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.

not for intended age
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).