Review: Hamantaschen or Latkes?
Hamantaschen or Latkes?
by Kerry M. Olitzky, illustrated by Ruby Silberman
Bink Books (imprint of Bedazzled Ink), 2025
Category: Picture Books
Reviewer: Amy Brook Cohen
This delightful new picture book was inspired by the real-life Great Latke-Hamantash Debate, started in 1946 and still held annually at the University of Chicago; now held at many other universities around the U.S as well.
Our two protagonists are Sandy and Zoe, two girls living in the charming Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh. While Sandy’s mom owns a bakery and their sell-out product is hamantaschen, Zoe’s mom owns a deli where the most popular item is latkes. The girls are friends, and they enjoy playful banter, debating the merits of both foods, each of them steadfast in their commitment to one food over the other.
When they come up with an idea to set up a table in the park so that community members can sample both hamantaschen and latkes and vote on which one they prefer, they're excited. Alas, the taste testing doesn't lead them to a clear winner. And then there are the blintzes at the dairy, which, once Zoe and Sandy taste them, become a serious contender for the most delicious food.
This story is all about the joy and love of Jewish food. Silberman’s gorgeous illustrations brilliantly evoke the old-fashioned charms of a close-knit neighborhood in which children set up stalls in a park, walk unaccompanied from the deli to the bakery to the dairy, and where Jewish families own multiple food businesses within proximity, and consequently all know each other. The visuals offer a lovely throwback to another, more innocent time.
Jewish representation is seamlessly woven into the story, from the foods themselves being traditional Jewish ones to the girls referencing their great-grandmother's Russian and European heritages and their passed-down recipes. Hamantaschen or Latkes? includes two of the author's favorite recipes: one for hamantaschen and one for latkes - of course. It feels like it would be hard for anyone, kids and adults alike, to read the book and not want to do two things:
1. Discuss whether they prefer hamantaschen or latkes
2. Try out one of the two recipes
Grown up readers who find their curiosity piqued after reading this book (not to mention their appetite!) can find out more about the origin story behind this charming book by reading the adult book The Great Latke -Hamantasch Debate, edited by Ruth Fredman Cernea.
Our two protagonists are Sandy and Zoe, two girls living in the charming Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh. While Sandy’s mom owns a bakery and their sell-out product is hamantaschen, Zoe’s mom owns a deli where the most popular item is latkes. The girls are friends, and they enjoy playful banter, debating the merits of both foods, each of them steadfast in their commitment to one food over the other.
When they come up with an idea to set up a table in the park so that community members can sample both hamantaschen and latkes and vote on which one they prefer, they're excited. Alas, the taste testing doesn't lead them to a clear winner. And then there are the blintzes at the dairy, which, once Zoe and Sandy taste them, become a serious contender for the most delicious food.
This story is all about the joy and love of Jewish food. Silberman’s gorgeous illustrations brilliantly evoke the old-fashioned charms of a close-knit neighborhood in which children set up stalls in a park, walk unaccompanied from the deli to the bakery to the dairy, and where Jewish families own multiple food businesses within proximity, and consequently all know each other. The visuals offer a lovely throwback to another, more innocent time.
Jewish representation is seamlessly woven into the story, from the foods themselves being traditional Jewish ones to the girls referencing their great-grandmother's Russian and European heritages and their passed-down recipes. Hamantaschen or Latkes? includes two of the author's favorite recipes: one for hamantaschen and one for latkes - of course. It feels like it would be hard for anyone, kids and adults alike, to read the book and not want to do two things:
1. Discuss whether they prefer hamantaschen or latkes
2. Try out one of the two recipes
Grown up readers who find their curiosity piqued after reading this book (not to mention their appetite!) can find out more about the origin story behind this charming book by reading the adult book The Great Latke -Hamantasch Debate, edited by Ruth Fredman Cernea.
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Reviewer Amy Brook Cohen is a writer and teacher; her essays and articles have been published widely on both sides of the Atlantic. Amy is currently at work on her first children's picture book. She lives in London, England, with her husband and two children.
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