The Day I Became a Potato Pancake
“Potato Pancake” GN Selected As PJ Library Title
I’m happy to announce that my graphic novel The Day I Became a Potato Pancake has been selected as a PJ Library title, and it’s also the recipient of PJ Library’s Grinspoon Jewish Story Award (GJSA).
This means that this book has been selected for use in PJ Library’s fall 2026 lineup.
The Day I Became a Potato Pancake was written by yours truly and illustrated by the incredible Beilin Xu. It was originally published in the fall of 2024 by Behrman House, via their Apples & Honey Press imprint. The book is about two kids, Naomi and Ben, whose friendship is put to the test when Ben is transformed into a walking, talking potato pancake.
Here’s what critics have 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.”
“This is a really funny Hanukkah-themed sci-fi graphic novel for middle grade or early chapter book readers…It’s a silly read that kids will love.”
“I happily recommend this book to all readers.”
Anyway, I just want to thank Chris Barash, Tasha Flagg, and everyone else at PJ Library for this great honor. Know what? I had a wonderful time writing The Day I Became a Potato Pancake. The work is its own reward, right? But over the past two years since its initial release, it’s been really gratifying to see this graphic novel find an audience. To see critics and audiences respond to it in such a positive way. And now to have won this award, and to have had the book selected as a PJ Library title? That’s just the cherry on top. Except that I don’t like cherries. They really…I don’t know. I don’t like the way they taste. (No offense to people who like cherries.) Who started that whole deal, anyway? Putting a cherry on top of an otherwise delicious ice cream sundae. Was there a period of trial and error there? Did they first put a pickle on top of a sundae and that didn’t really gel with the taste of the ice cream? Then they tried a nectarine and they were like, “Closer, but we’re not quite there yet…” And THEN they tried a cherry? And why do we spell it “sundae,” while the day of the week is “Sunday”? I mean, it’s not like there’s a computer in my pocket which is shaped like a Pop-Tart, and which could answer that question for me in a matter of nanoseconds. Oh wait, there is! Never mind!
“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.