Latkes are potato pancakes served at Hanukkah, and Lemony Snicket is an alleged children’s author. For the first time in literary history, these two elements are combined in one book. A particularly irate latke is the star of The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming, but many other holiday icons appear and even speak: flashing colored lights, cane-shaped candy, a pine tree. Santa Claus is briefly discussed as well. The ending is happy, at least for some. People who are interested in any or all of these things will find this book so enjoyable it will feel as though Hanukkah were being celebrated for several years, rather than eight nights.
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From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Go ahead and cover this book in red, stamp it with gold foil and label it a Christmas story—Lemony Snicket fans won't be fooled. The miraculous birth here is of a potato pancake, which, unlike its less loquacious literary cousin the Gingerbread Man, begins screaming the moment it gets cooked. Leaping out of the frying pan and into the great white spaces of Brown's retro-cool graphics, the latke screams even louder as it tries in vain to explain itself and its role at Hanukkah to flashing colored lights (So you're basically hash browns, they reply. Maybe you can be served alongside a Christmas ham) and an equally Christmas-centric candy cane and tree. Embedding a satirical sting in his elegantly cadenced prose, the author (Daniel Handler) up-ends any number of conventions in what may be his funniest book yet. The gift-edition trim size makes this as easy a choice for adults as for the Unfortunate Events crowd. All ages. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Lemony Snicket is the author of Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography and A Series Of Unfortunate Events. His whereabouts are unknown. Lisa Brown is the author and illustrator of Baby Make Me Breakfast, Baby Mix Me a Drink, Baby Fix My Car, and Baby Do My Banking. She lives in San Francisco with her family.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a high decibel hash brown escapes hot oil in search of understanding,
This review is from: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story (Hardcover)
Finally, a book that reinforces that Hanukah is not the Jewish Christmas and is not about presents. It is about hope in the face of being outnumbered. Here is a story about a latke in the midst of a Christmas story. It is screaming and wailing. And why shouldn't it? Someone who lives in the house without the xmas lights adorning it has tried to fry the latke in sizzling hot oil. Rather than jumping out of the frynig pan and into the fire, this little latke heads for the open window. As the story progresses, we learn about the story of Hanukah and the misconceptions about the latke and the holiday. A variety of popular Christmas symbols cross paths with the latke and think it is nothing more than a hash brown, a nice side meal to a Christmas ham, and more (or less). Oh, what a deep and meaningful book this is. It gets more insightful with each reading. Why do the colored lights fail to understand the latke? Why does the candy cane only focus on its minty fragrence and have no inclination for understanding that not everyone desires a peppermint scent? How could a candy stick be so distasteful under its red and white striped mint coating? Each confrontation ends with the latke running and screaming in search of understanding and identity. Until it lands under a pine tree in a snow covered, deep, dark forest (or is this the subconcious). Yet again, the pine tree is only focused on its small, provincial worldview. If something plopped under it, then it must be a present. No? But wait. A family with an axe approaches the pine forest...
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A silly take on religious differences,
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This review is from: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story (Hardcover)
The small, square, hardback is a great book for families of all religions to learn a little about Hanukah and the importance of understanding different cultures, but it's just as skewed and wicked as the other Lemony Snicket titles. Holiday lights, a candy cane and a pine tree just can't understand that not everything is about Christmas, especially a little potato pancake. The flashing lights say that the latke is basically hash browns, which go great alongside a nice Christmas ham.
Finally the latke finds some kindred spirits: a Jewish family who understands him so well, it eats him.
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
There's a kind of hash,
By Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story (Hardcover)
[To the tune of "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" as recorded by Herman's Hermits and The Carpenters.]
There's a kind of hash, in Lemony's world, that's right In Lemony's world, you can hear the sound of a latke with lungs If you know what I mean Just potato mush, with onions and egg, and fried There's no better way, than the Hanukah way, with the latke that cried So read it very carefully Closely now and you will see what I mean The latke that screamed Between the silly bits you'll see That there's a lot of history On the Jews, and Hanukah's meaning Yes there's a kind of hash, in Lemony's world, all right In Lemony's world, you can learn a lot, from Hanukah lore Seriously now, this deceptively simple little book effectively illustrates the difference between Hanukah and Christmas for those of us who weren't too sure before (and were afraid to ask). Through funny exchanges with other objects and some delightful illustrations by Lisa Brown, "Snicket" brings out the significance of Hanukah by comparing the traditions of Christmas with the miraculous defeat of Antiochus IV at the hands of the Maccabees, the subsequent re-dedication of the temple, and the oil that burned for eight days. The book ends in true dramatic Snicket fashion, with a kind of hush. Educational, yet entertaining, this is a good, albeit brief, book for everyone. Amanda Richards, December 10, 2007
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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