Children’s Stories
“The Day I Became a Potato Pancake” Is Out NOW!
What if – by some miracle of modern science – you were transformed into a walking, talking, sentient potato pancake? How would it affect your relationships with other people? How would it affect your rapport with your best friend? That’s the premise of The Day I Became a Potato Pancake, a Hanukkah-themed graphic novel which was written by yours truly and illustrated by the incredible Beilin Xu.
And today is the book birthday of The Day I Became a Potato Pancake, because that book was published TODAY by Behrman House!
Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly said about this book: “This speculative, character-focused graphic novel highlights aspects of Jewish identity and culture through multiple lenses to craft a goofy yet nuanced read.”
Read the full PW review HERE.
The Day I Became a Potato Pancake also appeared on a recent Publisher’s Weekly list of Jewish Holiday Books for Children.
And it’s mentioned in Booklist’s Fall Youth Preview for 2024.
Here’s the official publisher description of the book:
A fun-packed graphic novel with Hanukkah-themed, science fiction adventure.
Naomi and her best friend Ben love playing with the cool inventions Naomi’s scientist mother always works on, like the holographic simulation room where they can fight dinosaurs. One day, using special finger-print copying gloves, she and Ben break into her mom’s top-secret lab (otherwise known as the garage) to see what other cool stuff they might find. There they find a device called the Transfogram, an experimental machine that transforms you into whatever you’re thinking about at the moment. While eating potato pancakes, Ben reaches for the button to see what it does– and next thing he knows, he’s transformed into a life-size walking, talking potato pancake!
While Naomi’s mom finally concocts an antidote, Ben discovers that he enjoys being the center of attention at school, and he delays changing back to a human. But the clock is running out and if he doesn’t take the antidote soon, he’ll remain a potato pancake forever.
To make matters worse, there’s a mysterious figure watching Ben’s every move. It’s an alien, called a Dreideltopian, who collects Hanukkah-themed objects from around the galaxy for his museum, and now he wants to collect Ben!
To order The Day I Became a Potato Pancake on Amazon, go HERE.
And to order the book on the Behrman House site, go HERE.
Early Reviews Are In!
Two of my upcoming books – The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends and The Day I Became a Potato Pancake – were recently reviewed by prominent publications. Now, if they were negative reviews, I’d pretend they didn’t exist. But they are in fact positive reviews, so I acknowledge their existence wholeheartedly!
First, there’s a glowing write-up of The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends in Kirkus Reviews. The critic who reviewed my book said that it was “A revealing study of ways in which mythology is still very much with us,” and that it “offers a broad perspective and unusually rich and stimulating parallels.” Click HERE to read the whole review.
The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends comes out in October. So does The Day I Became a Potato Pancake, which is a children’s graphic novel that was written by yours truly and illustrated by the incredible Beilin Xu.
And if you’ve guessed that the second write-up concerns The Day I Became a Potato Pancake, you guessed right, because that book got a fantastic review in Publishers Weekly. And just in case you don’t have a subscription to Publishers Weekly and therefore cannot read the review, here it is:
Young inventor Naomi Hirsch and her best friend Ben Sherman love playing with her scientist mother’s inventions, like the hologram simulation program. But when they break into Professor Hirsch’s lab after being banned, they find something even more powerful: the Transfogram, “an experimental machine” that accidentally turns Ben into a human-sized latke. Naomi’s mother endeavors to develop an antidote before Ben’s transformation becomes permanent at sundown on the first night of Hanukkah, but Ben’s sudden boost in popularity among his classmates makes him reluctant to be human again. Kaplan (96 Facts About Bad Bunny) maintains gravitas amid silly circumstances by utilizing emotional dialogue centered on character relationships and growth. Singaporean illustrator Xu’s brightly colored art showcases facial expressions that emphasize the struggle between knowing what’s right and letting go of something that makes one feel special. This speculative, character-focused graphic novel highlights aspects of Jewish identity and culture through multiple lenses to craft a goofy yet nuanced read. Naomi and (human) Ben have tan skin. Back matter includes an art activity. Ages 7–9. (Oct.) —Publisher’s Weekly
Pretty cool, eh?
And if you DO have a subscription, HERE is the link to the review on the PW site.
The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends will be published by Quarto on October 8th, 2024, and The Day I Became a Potato Pancake comes out from Behrman House on October 15th, 2024. You can pre-order both books now!
Enjoy the Spring Semester with Spidey and Stitch!
Recently, I wrote a Spidey and His Amazing Friends board book titled Search for the Missing Teddy Bear. And I wrote a Lilo & Stitch activity book called Scratch and Sketch with Stitch! Both books are out NOW from Scholastic, just in time for the spring 2024 semester!
(Of school. The spring 2024 semester…of school. Because these are books for very young children. Who are in school. Just wanted to clarify that, in case you thought that these books were for college students or something, as colleges have semesters too. But the fact that one of these books is a board book probably tells you that it’s not for college-age people, right? Hmm. I think I’m doing that thing I sometimes do, where I overexplain stuff way too much. Like, WAYYYY too much. Moving on…)
Here’s Scholastic’s official description of Search for the Missing Teddy Bear:
Missing teddy? Never fear! Team Spidey is here to save the day! In this fun board book, Spidey’s head is a tactile, slow-rise squishy built into the back cover and pops through die cuts on every page! Swing through various locations with Spidey to find the missing teddy!
I just want to emphasize something the above ad copy mentioned: In this book, Spidey’s head is a tactile, slow-rise squishy! Isn’t that adorable? (Yes. Yes, it is.)
And here’s the official publisher description of Scratch and Sketch with Stitch:
Scratch to reveal cosmic colors and supercool patterns as you go on adventures with Stitch, the little blue alien with a big heart!
BTW, many of the aforementioned “adventures” in this Stitch book are games, puzzles, and activities. And one of the activities involves candy
hearts, the kind you give and receive on Valentine’s Day. Which of course is quite fitting, since Valentine’s Day is just a few short weeks away!
And just in case you’re interested, the back cover copy for Scratch and Sketch with Stitch tells you a little more about what you can expect from that book:
This Stitch-tastic activity book is brimming with intergalactic illustrations! Scratch away to reveal what outfit Stitch wears on an outer space trip, complete a maze to help him get through a space nebula, draw a new musical instrument for him, and a whole lot more!
The book includes a wooden stylus (for the whole “scratch away” part), 20 scratch-off pages, and 20 notebook pages. Pretty cool, eh?
I should also mention that both of these books are only available for distribution through the school market. In other words, they’re exclusively available through Scholastic Reading Events, so you won’t be able to find them on Amazon.
Last but definitely not least, if you’d like to see some of the other books I’ve written for Scholastic over the years, you can click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.