My children aren't Jewish, but they have cousins who are. To help them understand the holiday of Hanukkah -- or, if you prefer, Chanukah -- my wife and I picked up a copy of Alan Silberberg's Meet the Latkes. The book is a simple, silly explanation of the holiday, as explained -- incorrectly -- by Grandpa Latke, and then correctly by the family dog, Applesauce.

Grandpa tells a story of Mega-bees, alien potatoes and a honey shortage (as well as a Trojan dreidel). The dog, exasperated, tells the story of Maccabees, King Antiochus and a shortage of lamp oil. Between the two of them, they explain the difference between Hanukkah and Chanukah.

The story is colorfully illustrated with cartoony chaos, well suited to a story of bees and space potatoes, as told by sentient pancake people and a pancake dog. Read aloud, the book took a little over five minutes to finish.

The book ends with a one-paragraph summary of the Chanukah story, plus a useful glossary of the important words.

I'm not sure the kids would have gotten all of the jokes at the intended age range for the book (3 to 5), but as 8-year-olds, they laughed at the silliness of Silberberg's story and illustrations ... and at the end, they had a better understanding of the Jewish holiday.

Christmas has lots of classic stories for children. Chanukah has ... well, fewer. This is a nice book that kids, Jewish or not, will likely enjoy.