Wonder
Of Wonders,
Miracle
Of Miracles
Get ready for
Chanukah with a
great new book about
funny families, flying
lathes and
UFOs.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor
The Flying Latke by Arthur
Yorinks with art by William
Steig (Simon & Schuster;
$6.99).
Chanukah is all about miracles.
Consider The Flying Latke
one of them. This is the funni-
est, most original and most
Jewish children's book that has
come out in years. It has just
been published in paperback
and you should buy it now, and
never, ever let anyone borrow it.
Not even your best friend.
Not even your mother.
The story is about a boy and
his odd, but lovable family. The
characters are depicted by pho-
tographs of real-life actors,
including John Turturro, set
against a background drawn
by the incomparable William
Steig (author of the wonder-
ful children's tale Dr.
DeSoto, among others),
who also stars as the
newscaster.
As the story begins,
the author introduces
you to his family,
where "every day it
was something else. This
one didn't get along
with that one.
Someone wasn't
speaking to someone
else. The fights.
The arguments.
You shouldn't
know from it."
It's
Chanukah,
and the
whole family
is there:
"You know,
Uncle Izzy, Aunt
Sadie, Uncle Shecky, Aunt
Etta, Aunt Esther, Uncle Al,
Aunt Shirley and, oh yeah, all
my cousins: Nettie, Lettie,
Howard, Sy, Sidney, Sol,
Wolfie, Murray, Marvin, Tillie,
Roberta, Pauline and Bob."
Since "my mother doesn't
believe in appetizers," when
dinner is served everyone comes
running in to eat.
At the same time, an argu-
ment is brewing. Izzy saw a car;
he swears it was a Ford. Uncle
Shecky insists it was a Buick.
Izzy picks up a salad and drops
it on Shecky's head. Seconds
later, "The food flew ... In no
time, there was nothing left.
Nothing but a few latkes ..."
Izzy picks up one of the last
latkes, the largest, and it flies
out the window.
Then the family turns on the
TV, and: "We interrupt this
program to give you a news
bulletin. A UFO has just been
spotted flying over the New
Jersey Turnpike."
Yes, it's the latke.
Rest assured there's a happy.
ending, but I won't give it away
here. It's too much fun.
Books like The Flying Latke
come along once in a blue
moon (which, incidentally, is
one place we get to see the fly-
ing latke). Don't miss your
chance to buy it now.
Marven of the Great North
Woods by Karthryn Lasky,
with illustrations by Kevin
Hawkes (Voyager Books; $7).
This is a true story, written by
the daughter of. Marven Las
who, in 1918, was sent to work
in a logging camp to keep him
safe from the influenza epidem-
ic in his hometown of Duluth,
Minn.
The child of immigrants
from Russia, Marven was 10
when he went to live with the
:\
loggers, where he had to learn
not only how to manage with-
out his family, and how to
\\ •
work for a living, but how to
speak another language (the
loggers all speak French).
Marven of the Great North
Woods is a National Jewish
Book Council winner; the
•N,
illustrations must have been the
driving force behind this deci-
sion. The paintings are glori-
ous. You will feel like you're
right there at the logging camp
I
— in the cold, in the vastness
of it. The pictures are wonder-
ful.
The story is interesting
enough. You won't be surprised
a
10/11
2002
%ft
107