The Mouse Who Loved Latkes

When CJ (short for Colby Jack) learns that a family named Katz is moving into the apartment whose walls he inhabits, the little mouse goes into full panic mode (“Cats are no friends of mine!”). Following a delicious beckoning aroma, though, CJ finds Hanukkah preparations, including jelly doughnuts and chocolate coins, irresistible—even when Nelkin Wieder reveals that the family are, indeed, anthropomorphized cats. It helps when the family kitten, Kitty Katz, reassures him that the menorah isn’t a “ginormous mousetrap”; he first cautiously, and then joyfully, joins their celebration of latkes and candle lighting. And as the book’s punch line explains, CJ was never truly in danger anyway, because mice aren’t kosher. Watercolor- and ink-style illustrations lend a homespun, coloring-book warmth to a congenial cat-and-mouse picture book that honors Judaism’s tradition of holiday hospitality. Activities and a glossary conclude. Ages 2–8. (Oct.)