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Alan Silberberg

Alan Silberberg is an award-winning author, cartoonist, and children’s TV creator who has worked with Nickelodeon and Disney. He is the author and illustrator of three middle grade novels: Pond Scum, Milo: Stick Notes & Brain Freeze (winner of the SCBWI’s Sid Fleishman Humor Award), and The Awesome, Almost 100% True Adventures of Matt & Craz. He is the author of multiple Jewish holiday and food-themed books published by Viking: the picture books Meet the Latkes, Meet the Matzah, Meet the Hamantaschen, and The Bagel Who Wanted Everything; and the board books Latke’s First Hanukkah and P is for Pastrami. He lives with his family in Montreal.

Agent

Jill Grinberg

The Bagel Who Wanted Everything

Publisher

Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

July 29, 2025

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Humor

Rights

JGLM

P is for Pastrami: The ABCs of Jewish Food

Eat the alphabet with all of these delicious Jewish foods!

From apples and honey all the way to zhug, Alan Silberberg brings his signature wacky humor to this alphabet of Jewish food. It’s perfect for board book readers with a funny bone, and anyone who wants to celebrate the wide range of delicious bites Jews eat all over the world!

Publisher

Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

February 27, 2024

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Humor

Rights

JGLM

Latke's First Hanukkah

Now even the youngest readers can celebrate Hanukkah by joining Latke and his zany friends for an eight-night-long party!

Alan Silberberg brings his signature humor to the board book audience with a silly, accessible introduction to Hanukkah. Latke is having a party to celebrate the miracle of the oil, and before the holiday is over, all his friends will join him.

On the first night of Hanukkah, the latke lights the menorah.
On the second night of Hanukkah, the gelt gets sweet and giddy…
The party grows and grows until the eighth night of Hanukkah, when Latke’s home is full and all eight candles on the menorah are lit (plus the shamas!).

Praise for Latke’s First Hanukkah

“With this counting board book, Silberberg, a regular bard of Jewish holiday foods, introduces a potato pancake protagonist who, night by night, hosts a humdinger of a Hanukkah.” –Publishers Weekly

Publisher

Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

October 10, 2023

Age Category

Board Book

Genre

Humor

Rights

JGLM

Meet the Latkes

Lucy Latke’s family is just like yours or mine. Except that they’re potato pancakes. And also, they are completely clueless. After lighting the menorah and gobbling the gelt, Grandpa Latke tells everyone the Hanukkah story, complete with mighty Mega Bees who use a giant dreidel to fight against the evil alien potatoes from Planet Chhh. It’s up to the Latke family dog to set the record straight. (To start with, they were Maccabees, not Mega Bees…) But he’ll have to get the rest of the Latkes to listen to him first!

Praise for Meet the Latkes

“A full-blown kooky comedy unpacking an ancient Talmudic tale.” –The New York Times Book Review

“Readers who like their humor broad and goofy will lap this up, and Silberberg…makes it extra tasty with sprawling and genially messy cartooning that looks like it was created by someone hopped up on chocolate gelt.” –Publishers Weekly

Publisher

Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

October 16, 2018

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Holiday/Humor

Rights

JGLM

Meet the Matzah

From the creator of Meet the Latkes comes the zaniest retelling of the Passover story starring an earnest matzah and his bready friends!

What makes this Passover different from all other Passovers?

Meet Alfie Koman. He’s a matzah who really likes to hide. But Alfie also has a great story to tell his class of how the Hebrews fled Egypt to freedom. Too bad Loaf, the school sourdough bully, turns Alfie’s Passover story upside-down. A pharaoh who is a giant cockroach? Moses as a mighty superhero? And Ten Plagues that include “No Wi-fi” and “Chocolate-turned-to-broccoli”?

Looks like it’s up to Alfie and his best friend Challa Looyah to get the Passover story right. Alfie just has to come out of hiding first….

A follow-up to the hysterical Meet The Latkes, this Passover book is another mis-told holiday treat.

Praise for Meet the Matzah

“Wonderfully stupid…genuinely moving.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Laugh-out-loud… A fun and silly purchase for holiday collections.” –School Library Journal

Publisher

Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

March 2, 2021

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Holiday/Humor

Rights

JGLM

Meet the Hamantaschen

Publisher

Viking Books for Young Readers

Publication Date

February 1, 2022

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Holiday/Humor

Rights

JGLM

The Awesome, Almost 100% True Adventures of Matt & Craz

Best friends Matt and Larry “Craz” Crazinski couldn’t be more different. Matt loves order, while Craz lives on the edge. The boys share a passion for cartooning, but thanks to the school paper gatekeeper (and kind-of bully), Skip Turkle, it seems their cartoons will never be published.

But then the boys discover a pen that promises to help them DRAW BETTER NOW!—and quickly realize it’s no ordinary pen: Whatever they draw comes to life!

They start small with their drawings—bags of cash, cool gadgets. Next, they get their pesky English teacher to take a unique and extended vacation. But when the boys get a little bolder in their magical drawings, they realize that things don’t always end up as perfect as the art they create…

In this funny, slightly zany, and ultimately heartwarming story, Sid Fleischman Award–winner Alan Silberberg demonstrates the power of friendship—and that the best life is not always sketched out in advance.

Praise for Matt & Craz

“Readers may question Matt’s and Craz’s intelligence, but if the plot is short on sense, the jokes almost always work, and that’s a more important brand of magic any day.” –Kirkus

“Silberberg (Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze) leavens the story’s nonsensical elements with several poignant subplots.” –Publishers Weekly

Publisher

Aladdin

Publication Date

April 23, 2013

Age Category

Middle Grade

Genre

Graphic/Contemporary Science Fiction

Rights

JGLM

Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze

Loveable thirteen-year-old geek Milo Cruikshank finds reasons for frustration at every turn, from the annoying habits of his neighbors to his futile efforts to get Summer Goodman to realize his existence. The truth is, ever since Milo’s mother died, nothing has gone right. Now instead of the kitchen being full of music, his whole house has been filled with Fog. Nothing’s the same. Not his Dad. Not his sister. And definitely not him. Milo achieves a rare and easy balance of poignancy and awkward, natural humor, making it deeply accessible—this is the kind of book that can change lives.

Praise for Milo

“There is a great deal of humour in the book. Children who have read it but haven’t experienced the death of someone close have responded to the comedy and tenderness in Milo’s story, enjoying what it has to say about friendship, siblings, school and falling for the wrong girl. Bereaved children have connected in a deeper way.” –The Guardian

“Middle-school readers will find his school life familiar and painfully funny, but they may be surprised by the poignancy of his story.” –Kirkus

Publisher

Aladdin

Publication Date

September 14, 2010

Age Category

Middle Grade

Genre

Graphic/Contemporary

Rights

JGLM

Pond Scum

Oliver is the type of kid who enjoys pulling the wings off flies just to hear the little “snap.” Needless to say, he’s more friendly with his television than with other kids. Oliver’s life takes a turn, though, when his mom gets a new job and moves the family to a small town. Worse, his mom has fallen in love with a rundown old house near a pond. But there’s something weird about the house. It seems to be guarded by creatures from the pond—creatures who decidedly don’t want the family move in.

Praise for Pond Scum

“Alan Silberberg is no novice when it comes to writing, and this is evident in the talent he pours out onto each page. Lots of puns, funny jokes and exciting adventures make this a fast and fun read.” –Kidsreads

Publisher

Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date

October 1, 2005

Age Category

Middle Grade

Genre

Contemporary Fantasy

Rights

JGLM