Penina Levine Is a Potato Pancake

Illustrated by Majella Lue Sue, Roaring Brook Press, 2008

Prequel to Penina Levine Is a Hard-Boiled Egg.

It's Hanukkah -- time for shiny presents, delicious potato pancakes, and glowing candles. But Penina's presents aren't ready. The potato pancakes taste like soggy felt, and her sister is hogging all the candles.   But Grandma and Grandpa are on their way.  When Grandma and Grandpa show up, so does a blizzard. Penina walks home through the snow and straight into another storm -- a family argument.  Hanukkah is going horribly wrong. Can Penina turn it around? She's going to try, with a zillion hand-cut snowflakes, a game of chance, and a plate full of crispy-hot potato pancakes. 

“A sweet and funny holiday tale”
—School Library Journal

“Penina is a funny friend in Print”
—Esme Raji Codell, Planet Esme

“[When] it seems everything is going wrong…feisty Penina works things out in the end.”
—Karen MacPherson

Scroll down for book discussion questions
Book Discussion Questions 1.      Penina wants to put off opening Hanukkah gifts because she hasn’t finished making them for her family. Have you ever made holiday gifts for family or friends? What did you make? Was it hard? Did the process take longer than you expected? Were you pleased with the results? 2.      Penina and Zozo expect to miss Mrs. Brown when she leaves. Has there been a special teacher that you have known that you would miss? What subject did he or she teach? Was it a subject that you liked and were good at? Do you think it’s possible to really like a teacher who teaches something you don’t understand or like to study?
3.      Penina and Zozo have fun making up recipes for different kinds of pancakes. Have you ever tried to change one of your favorite foods by doing something different, like putting peanut butter on pizza or mixing apple juice and milk? What did you create—and how did it taste? 4.      Penina gets frustrated with her family because she feels like they don’t listen to her. Have you ever felt like you couldn’t communicate with your parents? What were you trying to tell them? Did you try to get your message across in another way, like writing a letter or talking with someone else in your family first? Whatever you tried, did it work? 5.       Penina’s favorite present is a copy of the Annotated Alice. This is a version of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass that offers a lot of background information about how the book was written and what various sections of it might mean. If you could have an annotated copy of any book in the world, what would it be? What would you want to know about that book?

Thank you, Lisa, for the questions!