The book was about a girl prepping for Hanukkah with her family, except the latkes ran away!

I enjoyed this book because I felt a personal connection to it, since I celebrate Hanukkah. I liked that the author gave a brief introduction to the story of Hanukkah before the actual story, because it would allow teachers to inform their students on the holiday since it is not as common as Christmas. The story had a lot of onomatopoeia, with words such as "Plop!" and "Sizzle!" which gives the reader a better mental picture. The author also included a little chant that the latkes sung on each page. This repetition could allow the students to get involved in the story while the teacher reads to the large group. I also enjoyed the organization of the story because it was sequential. For example, the latkes would run away from the main character (Rebecca), then the rabbi, then the cantor, etc. and the characters continued onto the next page until the latkes were finally stopped. However, I do think that the story went on a bit too long just because of how repetitive it was. Because of the repetition, I don't think that we were able to fully able to form a connection with the main character, Rebecca. In the back of the book, the author included a recipe for Latkes which could be used as a class project. I think that the author was trying to relay more information about this holiday to her readers because there are so many more Christmas books out there than Hanukkah. ( )

I really liked The Runaway Latkes for many reasons. I thought that this was a very creative way to inform young readers about a very special holiday for Judaism and the food that is prepared. I enjoyed how all the members of the Jewish community along with the outside community, tagged along in the rescue of the Latkes. It was a fun story to see everyone chasing after food. I thought that the repetitive song that the Latkes sang was entertaining and helps students with their reading skills. The illustrations were simple but enjoyable as each new character was introduced. Students get an opportunity to learn about another religion and different culture from their own in this book. The message of this story is that we must work together sometimes and it is about bringing people closer to each other through a problem. ( )