Ellen Fischer

When Zoe, Zach and their parents adopt a dog from the shelter on the first day of Hanukkah, they name him Latke and bring him home. Unused to life in a house, Latke makes a number of mistakes, from eating treats not meant for him to chewing on wrapped holiday gifts. Fortunately, his new family is patient and understanding...

I picked up Latke, the Lucky Dog with some anticipation, hoping for a sweet holiday tale about an animal finding a home, and that is just what I got. That said, the text sometimes felt a little clunky to me, and the first-person narration from Latke's perspective was often a little forced. The artwork is colorful and cute, although the human faces (particularly the eyes) were somewhat off-putting to me. This is my first book from author Ellen Fischer, but I have encountered and enjoyed illustrator Tiphanie Beeke's work before, in Julia Rawlinson's picture-books about Fletcher the fox, so I was surprised to find that the visuals didn't strike more of a chord with me. Perhaps Beeke is simply better at depicting animals than humans. There's nothing really wrong here, and I would still recommend this one to those seeking picture-book set at Hanukkah (rather than about Hanukkah itself), but somehow I expected to enjoy it more than I did.… (mais)