Latkes and Applesauce - Fran Manushkin

Latkes and Applesauce

Fran Manushkin, Illustrated by Robin Spowart

1993

With Hanukkah coming up, I thought I'd share one of my favourite childhood books about the holiday. I've had this book forever, and it is probably one of my favourite holiday stories.

Latkes and Applesauce is a story about Hanukkah. A nasty blizzard comes and leaves a family without potatoes for latkes or apples for applesauce at Hanukkah. The potatoes are buried outside, and there are no apples due to a poor harvest. Nonetheless, the family takes in a stray cat and a stray dog. They don't name the animals, because a name "must fit like a glove." On the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, the storm clears. The family goes outside and, through the magic of a Hanukkah miracle, the dog digs up the potatoes and the cat climbs up an apple tree where there are no apples. The family then makes themselves a little feast out of what they found, and the animals getting their fitting names.

The book also has a latke recipe in the back, as well as instructions on how to play the dreidel. There is also a brief retelling of the story of Hanukkah.

Latkes and Applesauce is one of my favourite holiday books. It's a very cute story and the illustrations are beautiful.

If you're looking for a cute little story about Hanukkah, this might be the book for you! I know there's lots more stories out there (especially nowadays), but you can't go wrong with Latkes and Applesauce. 

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Latkes and Applesauce

Have you ever read Latkes and Applesauce? Or any other good Hanukkah books? Let me know in the comments!