Author/illustrator Marilyn Hirsh takes the folkloric story of the wanderer who creates a delicious dish from seemingly nothing - tale type 1548 in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther folktale classification system, it is most commonly known through such tales as Stone Soup - and gives it an Eastern European Jewish shtetl setting in this picture-book for Hanukkah. When Samuel the peddler stops as a house on the first night of the holiday, he finds that the potato pancakes (latkes) have not yet been made, because Grandma Yetta and Grandma Sophie each insist that their recipe be used. Fortunately, Samuel knows what to do, stepping in with his claim that he can make the potato pancakes from a crust of bread...

I enjoyed Potato Pancakes All Around: A Hanukkah Tale, which is the second title I have picked up from Hirsch, following upon her The Rabbi and the Twenty-Nine Witches. Originally published in 1978, it is, like many of Hirsch's books, long out of print, and was discovered by me on my public library's Hanukkah display. The narrative is engaging, and full of humor—I particularly liked the two grandmas' outrage at Samuel's antics—while the artwork, done in ink with gold and brown tone washes meant to suggest sepia photographs, has a vintage charm. The inclusion of a recipe for potato pancakes, as well as a brief note about the history of Hanukkah at the rear of the book was a welcome addition. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for fun Hanukkah stories featuring appealingly old-fashioned settings and artwork. ( )

Summary:
An old peddler is going through a town on The first night of Hannakuh and is taken in for the night by a charmig family. They are arguing about how to go about making potatoe pancakes. The old peddler decides to use his recipe and the family really enjoys it. After they finsh dinner he has to move on much to the families dismay.

Personal reaction:
This book was rather good but I was rather disappointed with it. It was simple enough and the pictures were cute. There just was not a whole lot to it to keep my interest. It was nice to see a book about a Hannakuh tradition because I have not seen that many lately.

Classroom Extention Ideas:
1. I could read it when we are discussing holidays and family traditions.
2. Have the kids write their own Potatoe Pancake recipe's and make the one from the back of the book in class. ( )

A retelling of Stone Soup with a Hanukkah twist: the stranger this time is a peddler who can make potato latkes from a crust of bread. A little long for very young children. But the pictures have little side stories and the grandmothers end up agreeing with each other. ( )

A wandering peddler teaches villages how to make potato pancakes from a crust of bread (from the summary).

The word "shtetl" doesn't appear in Marilyn Hirsh's Potato pancakes all around, a Hanukkah tale, but the plot is obviously set in that world. The central figure is Samuel the peddler, who arrives on the first night of Hanukkah to a small and happy village, where the children are playing outside. He is welcome in the first house he knocks the door on and even accepted as the person to make the traditional Hanukkah latke, while the others argue about which recipe is the best to use. His way of cooking it is communal; he lets everyone suggest to add an ingredient, so by the end they have pretty rich latkes.

The book's appendices include a one page description of Hanukkah and a recipe attributed to the grandmothers in the story. I enjoyed the sepia illustration drawn by the author and printed in brown, grey and yellow. The peddler looks like a bit the archetypal, patriarchal G-d image. His jolly manners and integrative method make the story fun to read as well. It is cheerful book, not just for 4-8 year old children, for whom it is written for.