The Picture Book Buzz - Interview w/Martha Seif Simpson and Review of I Will Not Eat Latkes!
Martha Seif Simpson is an award-winning librarian and the former Head of Children’s Services at the Stratford Library in Stratford, CT, where she worked for 28 years.
The best part about her job was seeing all the new books and sharing them with kids. Martha lives in Connecticut and volunteers in her synagogue library when she’s not travelling around the world with her husband.
During her library career, she wrote five resource books for librarians. Now Martha focuses on writing for children. She has five picture books: A Ring For a King: A Tale of King Solomon (2025), Esther’s Gragger: A Toyshop Tale of Purim (2019), and The Dreidel That Wouldn't Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah (2014), all illustrated by Durga Yael Bernhard, as well as What Not to Give Your Mom on Mother's Day, illustrated by Jana Christy (2013).
Check her website for printable book activities and discussion guides. She also has a Substack where you can find her newsletter, The Simpsonian Muse, to read interviews with other children’s book authors and see photos from her travel adventures.
Martha’s new picture book, I Will NOT Eat Latkes, releases October 20th.
Welcome back Martha, thank you so much for stopping by again to talk about your new book.
It’s nice to talk to you again!
Is there an author or illustrator (children’s or otherwise) who has had an influence on your writing or creativity?
© Heidi Rabinowitz
There are so many authors and illustrators whose works I admire. I think they’ve all influenced me in one way or another. One author who inspired me was Jane Yolen, who passed away this year. She could write in any genre and for every age group. I love her lyrical stories, poetry, versions of folktales and legends, and humorous (and often pun-derful) picture books. I was fortunate to hear her speak at several children’s literature and writer conferences over the years, and she always had words of wisdom to impart in her witty, sometimes irreverent, way. She also wrote picture books, middle grade readers, and young adult novels with Jewish content. When I chaired the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee in 2022, I had the great pleasure of presenting Jane with the Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award, which she so richly deserved.
I had the honor and pleasure to spend time talking to Jane Yolen at a few SCBWI conferences. She has been an inspiration for many children's writers. What was the inspiration or spark of interest for I Will Not Eat Latkes?
As a librarian, I know how important easy reader books are to children who are starting to decode words on their own. There’s a severe lack of easy readers with Jewish content, so I decided to write one. I started going through books that were favorites of my kids when they were little, which of course included works by Dr. Seuss. I thought it would be fun to write a Jewish companion to Green Eggs and Ham, since lots of kids can relate to a picky eater. As for what that particular food would be, I remembered a time when we had visitors at our house for Hanukkah. We were grounding up potatoes and onions to make latkes, when someone looked at the mixture and called it rusty potato mush. I had already written one Hanukkah book, The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin, and wasn’t looking to write another. But I couldn’t pass up the idea of writing about a character who refuses to eat Rusty Potato Mush, which was my working title for the book.
I'm glad you found a fun way to write a Jewish easy reader! And "Rusty Potato Mush" is so funny and fun to read aloud. Which was the hardest or most challenging part of writing I Will Not Eat Latkes? And what was the most fun?
I knew my book would involve two characters cooking latkes, but I didn’t want adults in the story and it’s not appropriate to have unsupervised children using knives or frying food in hot oil. Therefore, my characters had to be animals, but I couldn’t decide what type. So I wrote the entire book without knowing what Nosh and Potchky were! After the book was acquired, my editor and I emailed ideas back and forth until I had the feeling that Nosh was a koala. Since we couldn’t agree on an animal for Potchky, we let the illustrator decide. Lisa Hunt suggested a ring-tailed lemur because she could use the long tail to help express Potchky’s emotions. That was a brilliant idea!
As I mentioned above, I wrote the story as an easy reader. The team at Apples & Honey Press wanted to keep the text at the beginning reader level, but tell the story in a comic/graphic novel type format that was the size of a picture book. At first, it was strange to rewrite the story with specific instructions for the illustrator, since authors are usually told not to do that. But once I got used to it, that turned out to be a lot of fun. It also made editing the text easier since I could indicate what I wanted the pictures to convey.
It's so fun to blend in the comic/graphic novel type format in an easy reader! How long did it take from the first draft to publication for the text of I Will Not Eat Latkes?
I started writing the story in April of 2024 and submitted it to Apples & Honey later that year. They expressed an interest in November, and we signed the contract in early 2025. It took the rest of the year to get the manuscript finalized and a few more months in 2026 for Lisa to complete the illustrations. The pubdate is October 20, 2026, so I guess that’s about two and a half years, which is less time than usual for my books.
But not too bad a timeline, either. Did anything surprise or amaze you when you first got to see Lisa Hunt’s illustrations? What is your favorite spread?
Text © Martha Seif Simpson, 2026. Image © Lisa Hunt, 2026.
I was delighted to see Lisa’s first sketches of Nosh and Potchky. They look so perfect together! I love the body language and expressions on Potchky’s face during the spread I call “the Tantrum Scene.” And two pages later, when Potchky realizes the fried latkes smell good. The last spread in the story, when Nosh is showing the plate of jelly donuts to Potchky, also makes me smile. Couldn’t you just imagine Potchky and Nosh as plush toys?
They will make amazing plush toys, especially if Potchky's tail is flexible. What's something you want your readers to know about I Will Not Eat Latkes?
I Will Not Eat Latkes looks like a picture book but it’s still an easy reader. There are no contractions in the text, and I tried to use simple words - although I had to include a few long words like Hanukkah, menorah, Maccabee, applesauce, and sufganiyot. I think the picture clues will help children figure them out.
Even though this is a silly story, there is also a message that kids shouldn’t be afraid of trying something new, whether it’s tasting a different food or being brave enough to try a new activity. And Nosh is very patient with stubborn Potchky, which is something we can all learn from.
People can find a downloadable discussion guide, crossword puzzle, and coloring pages for I Will NOT Eat Latkes on the Apples & Honey website, as well as mine.
In addition to featuring Hanukkah foods, you do a great job in relaying the joy in trying new things and being patient with each other. Are there any new projects you are working on now that you can share a hint or tidbit with us?
I’m working on a few picture books, and I have a small chapbook of offbeat poetry that I’ll let people know more about in 2027.
I wish you the best of luck with these projects. Last question, what animal or natural feature (place) do you want to learn more about? Why?
I knew there were different types of lemurs, but I’d never heard of a ring-tailed lemur before Lisa came up with her idea for Potchky. I did some research about them, and they are fascinating creatures. For example, a group of ringtails is called a troop and the species is female-dominant. There are over 100 types of lemurs, and they all come from Madagascar. I think kids would be interested in learning about ringtails, and also about koalas, so I mention some facts about them in the discussion guide.
Thank you, Martha, for sharing with us a bit about yourself and your newest picture book.
To find out more about Martha Seif Simpson, or to contact her:
Website: https://www.martha-seif-simpson.com/
Substack: https://marthakidlitauthor.substack.com/
And if you enjoy the book, please review it on Goodreads and/or Amazon. Thanks!
Review of I Will NOT Eat Latkes
Be sure to check out fun comic/graphic novel like picture book about Hanukkah traditions, being brave and trying new things, friendship, and patience.
I Will NOT Eat Latkes
Author: Martha Seif Simpson
Illustrator: Lisa Hunt
Publisher: Apples & Honey Press (October 20, 2026)
Ages: 4 - 6
Fiction
Themes:
Hanukkah, food, trying new things, and friendship.
Synopsis:
A funny, foodie friendship tale for Hanukkah about patience, courage, and trying new things.
Potchky will not eat smelly onions or brown potatoes, especially when his friend Nosh mixes them with matza meal, eggs and salt, thank you very much. But Nosh doesn’t let Potchky’s complaints get in the way of cooking for Hanukkah. Rather, Nosh gently guides Potchky to give new foods a try. This sweet, simple tale celebrates Hanukkah with age-appropriate messages of trying new foods and having patience with our friends.
Written with an early reader in mind, the story is told with easy-to-read words and without contractions. The book's backmatter includes the story of Hanukkah, a science experiment to do at home, and, of course, a latke recipe. Perfect for fans of Elephant and Piggie, Green Eggs and Ham, and other simple books of humor, friendship, and growing.
Opening Lines:
Hanukkah begins tonight. Potchky, we should make latkes.
Nosh, what are Latkes?
They are yummy potato pancakes.
What I Liked about this book:
Okay, doing a version of Green Eggs & Ham in a Hanukkah setting is a great premise. Excited to share the Hanukkah traditions with his friend, Nosh, a koala, suggests they make Latkes. Parents will immediately recognize Potchky's, a ring-tailed lemur, skeptical look and immediate declaration that he only likes potato chips and will NOT like latkes. Resistance to anything new, especially foods, is a common experience and can be quite strong.
Text © Martha Seif Simpson, 2026. Image © Lisa Hunt, 2026.
Ignoring his friends whines and protests, Nosh not only proceeds to begin making the latkes, but engages Potchky in helping peel the potatoes. Thing are going along fine until the potatoes turn...brown. I love Potchky's increasingly anxious faces as he worries and then adamantly refuses to eat "RUST!" Lisa Hunt's illustrations make a fun shift from traditional picture book scenes of two characters interacting in the colorful yellow and orange living room to comic-like graphic panels with a solid peach background. I love how she packs so much emotion into the character's faces and body language.
Text © Martha Seif Simpson, 2026. Image © Lisa Hunt, 2026
When asked to peel the onion, Potchky scoots back to the living room to light the menorah and read about Hanukkah. Despite Nosh's repeated attempts to interest Potchky in mixing, frying, or savoring the smell of frying latkes, there seems to be no way to make latkes appealing. And channeling Sam, the ring-tailed lemur totally, absolutely, refuses to eat "brown and mucky, yucky, rusty, fried mud pies!" Setting up a humorous, yet non-aggressive, battle of wills in a very "odd-couple" pair of friends.
Text © Martha Seif Simpson, 2026. Image © Lisa Hunt, 2026.
Using succinct text, color-coded speech bubbles, and a fun variety of illustrations, Martha Seif Simpson and Lisa Hunt have created a wonderful Hanukkah retelling of Green Eggs and Ham with a delightful dose of humor and friendship! So, although you might guess at the ending, Nosh's patience and a bit of good-natured teasing offers the reader a fun twist and a bit more Hanukkah fun. Illustrated backmatter offers kids more information on "The Story of Hanukkah," a potato oxidation experiment, and of course a "Rusty Potato Mush" recipe. Carrying the humor through to the very end. It's an entertaining book exploring elements of the Jewish holiday, that like a sufganiyot has a sweet center of friendship, patience, and bravery.
Resources:
make a ring-tailed lemur and koala paper bag puppet. What adventures will your friends have?
list all the foods you can think of that are made with potatoes. Which one(s) are your favorites? Ask your friends and relatives, does anyone know of recipes you've never heard of or tried? Are you brave enough to try?
check out the book's discussion guide, coloring sheets, and activities on Martha's website.
If you are in the area, check of Martha Leif Simpson's upcoming launch and book event:
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