Genres
Description
"Latkes are potato pancakes served at Hanukah. Lemony Snicket is an alleged children's author. For the first time in literary history, these two elements are combined in one book. People who are interested in either or both of these things will find this book so enjoyable it will feel as if Hanukah is being celebrated for several years, rather than eight nights."--back cover.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007-10-28
Publication
McSweeney's (2007), Edition: First Edition, 48 pages
ISBN
1932416870 / 9781932416879
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User reviews
LibraryThing member -Eva-
This made me laugh out loud - it fits my dark humor perfectly. There are a couple of snarky moments (but in a funny Lemony Snicket-way) that are payback for every time someone Jewish has heard Hanukkah described as "the Jewish Christmas." For non-Jews, a super-quick introduction of how Hanukkah
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came to be. The fleeing latke, screaming "AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" page after page had me chuckling for a very, very long time (actually, I'm still doing it!)! Show Less
LibraryThing member aethercowboy
Lemony Snicket returns with a non-Series of Unfortunate Events story about a latke that just couldn't stop screaming.
Labeled a Christmas story, _Latke_ is more a tale of Hanukkah, and specifically, how it's not Christmas, and shouldn't be merged with Christmas (though, the fact that Christmas is a
This tale, while short, is nevertheless entertaining. Recommended for both Jew and gentile during that winter celebration, whichever it may be. Pagans can read it too.
Labeled a Christmas story, _Latke_ is more a tale of Hanukkah, and specifically, how it's not Christmas, and shouldn't be merged with Christmas (though, the fact that Christmas is a
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merging between Christian and Pagan tradition is mentioned in jest).This tale, while short, is nevertheless entertaining. Recommended for both Jew and gentile during that winter celebration, whichever it may be. Pagans can read it too.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Loved it, will be bringing it to read next Hanukah to compete with the storybook my father-in-law insists on performing every year. Typical Snicket, down to “a word which here means” and wry twists combined with a touch of bittersweet musing about keeping identity in a world where the majority
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keeps trying to assimilate you. Not that Snicket sneers at that, either; as a pine tree says to the titular latke, “Let me tell you a funny story about pagan rituals ….” Show Less
LibraryThing member jmeisen
This book somehow manages, while being utterly hilarious, both to make its point about Chanukah not being "the Jewish Christmas" and to concisely sum up the story of Chanukah. The perfect gift for all your goyishe friends, kid and adult.
LibraryThing member break
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story was published just in time for last year's winter season. It is a dark story of an anthropomorphized latke, who keeps having to fight against being stereotyped and compared to objects and customs related Christmas. What can he do? He keeps
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screaming. Which is not surprising considering that he was born in hot oil and his short lifespan ended in somebody's mouth. Lisa Brown's graphics made the story look like an instant classic from the futuristic 1950's. The book is funny, dark and satirical, I am not sure it would make every child happy. Show Less
LibraryThing member maybedog
Ridiculous and absurd but actually quite funny. Not find of the illustration style but they're comical and fit the text. Plus, I learned something about Hannukah I didn't know. (I think maybe this degree of mine was written on toilet paper with disappearing ink.)
LibraryThing member Jellyn
Lemony Snicket's witty voice tells the story of a latke that couldn't stop screaming. It runs down the street, encountering Christmasy things (a candy cane, a tree) that don't understand. Is he a hash brown? Is he a part of Christmas?The latke explains, and screams, what he is and what he's all
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about. And it's all very amusing. And there's a cute squirrel. Show Less
LibraryThing member C.Vick
AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Heh.
Sorry.
This work is pure Snicket, but you would probably be well-served to know a wee bit about Hanukkah as well.
Jews who like Snicket (which is an interesting thing to ponder, and probably small percentage of the world's population) will love it.
Despite the
Heh.
Sorry.
This work is pure Snicket, but you would probably be well-served to know a wee bit about Hanukkah as well.
Jews who like Snicket (which is an interesting thing to ponder, and probably small percentage of the world's population) will love it.
Despite the
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pictures, this is not really a "picture book." Or even a kids book. Then again, I was always amazed that any children ever read and enjoyed the Series of Unfortunate Events books, so what do I know? Show Less
LibraryThing member teaperson
A fabulous tale about a latke who isn't happy about getting dipped in hot oil, isn't happy about being constantly compared to Christmas traditions, and isn't happy about not fitting in. But it comes to a fitting conclusion. I'm not sure my kids got all the sly jokes, but I did, and we all enjoyed
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reading it after the first candle tonight. Show Less
LibraryThing member WSRobitaille
This is the story of a Latke, which is a traditional potato pancake, who is not only upset about being born boiled in oil, but is frustrated that characters keep talking about Christmas when he is used in the Hanukah celebration. He vents his frustration by running everywhere screaming.
This story
This story
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manages to be both a Christmas and Hanukah story and reflects a bit about how these holidays differ while educating the reader about the celebration of Hanukah. Although some of the language in this book is for a bit more advanced readers, the definitions are often explained in the text making it a good read for all ages. Told with humour, sarcasm and panache, this story transcends its simple illustrations and the frustration of the latke makes perfect sense for someone who doesn’t celebrate the same holidays as most of his neighbours. This is an interesting tale of cultural differences, and the silencing of a frustrated latke. Show Less
LibraryThing member cannellfan
I've never read any of the Lemony Snicket books, but when this passed by me at work (a library), I could help but give it a quick read. This is a quirky, but still engaging, look at the cultural differences between Christmas and Hanukkah, aimed at very young readers. Snicket addresses a touchy
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subject with absurdist humor and a simple story. Nicely done! Show Less
LibraryThing member dknippling
Warning: this is a book written by Lemony Snicket. If you like that kind of thing, you will find this book, however short, to be the kind of thing that you like. If not, well, it may bother you to see the Christmas tradition of trying to make everything Christmas-like satirized, and you may not
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recognize the happy ending for what it is. Show Less
LibraryThing member lauraejensen
A clever, hilarious book, put out by the good people at McSweeney's! This follows a latke who escapes being boiled only to run into a sle of ignorant Christmas symbols who are ignorant of the Jewish holiday. The latke tries in vain to educate these characters. Great use in the classroom to talk
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about Jewish traditions, also helpful in conjunction with latke cooking. A bit uproarious, may be pre-recess read. Show Less
LibraryThing member JillKB
When I saw that Lemony Snicket had written a holiday story, I had to read it. A very cute story about a latke that runs away after being put in a pan of hot boil -- and how hard he has to work to be understood by all the Christmas craziness around him. Very well done -- a new holiday classic (for
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Jews anyway). Show Less
LibraryThing member matthewbloome
This was a very funny book. I laughed and learned and laughed…oh, wait a minute…did I say I learned? I did! He got me! I learned from this book without realizing it. This was a great book. A number of the pages to the latkes screams of pain or exasperation, but in between that great writing
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there was a wonderful story of a latke surrounded by Christmas decorations that only wanted to distort the meaning of Hanukah. This poor latke couldn't get through to anybody what he wanted everyone to know about Hanukah…except me. I got it and I loved the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jagular2k
Excellent book for explaining Hanukkah. I got it for my girls, but I read it, too, and learned quite a bit about Hanukkah. A funny quick and informative read.
LibraryThing member raizel
This book is much better than I thought it would be.
His explanation of Hanukah is quite reasonable and much more detailed than you would expect. I'm not sure his origin of the dreidel is correct, but he is not the only one who has said it was used to trick soldiers into thinking that Jews were
Some points he makes: Hanukah celebrates a military victory. There is a miracle that has to do with oil used in rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem, so eating fried foods, such as potato latkes, is a popular custom. Gifts are not the most important part of the holiday; lighting the Hanukkiah is.
And, as the latke who can't stop screaming tries to explain to Christmas objects that also don't normally speak, Hanukah and Christmas have nothing to do with other. Although, as the pine tree says, "But different things can often blend together. ... let me tell you a funny story about pagan rituals."
There is even a nice moral, which probably has nothing to do with Hanukah specifically: "It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream. But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake."
As in the books in his Series of Unfortunate Events, Mr. Snicket uses the occasional big word and then defines it in a way that only fits the context in which it appears. For example: " ... arrondissement, a word which here means 'place where something was being born.'"
There is a hint of "The Gingerbread Man," in so far as the latke jumps out the frying pan, runs around the community, a word which here means "places where there are Christmas objects," and---to give it all away---gets eaten in the end.
His explanation of Hanukah is quite reasonable and much more detailed than you would expect. I'm not sure his origin of the dreidel is correct, but he is not the only one who has said it was used to trick soldiers into thinking that Jews were
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playing games when they were really studying. Similarly, on Lag B'Omer, children play with bows and arrows. I can't help thinking of scenes in movies where the gambling hall is quickly transformed into a classroom when the police arrive. We do things the other way round.Some points he makes: Hanukah celebrates a military victory. There is a miracle that has to do with oil used in rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem, so eating fried foods, such as potato latkes, is a popular custom. Gifts are not the most important part of the holiday; lighting the Hanukkiah is.
And, as the latke who can't stop screaming tries to explain to Christmas objects that also don't normally speak, Hanukah and Christmas have nothing to do with other. Although, as the pine tree says, "But different things can often blend together. ... let me tell you a funny story about pagan rituals."
There is even a nice moral, which probably has nothing to do with Hanukah specifically: "It is very frustrating not to be understood in this world. If you say one thing and keep being told that you mean something else, it can make you want to scream. But somewhere in the world there is a place for all of us, whether you are an electric form of decoration, peppermint-scented sweet, a source of timber, or a potato pancake."
As in the books in his Series of Unfortunate Events, Mr. Snicket uses the occasional big word and then defines it in a way that only fits the context in which it appears. For example: " ... arrondissement, a word which here means 'place where something was being born.'"
There is a hint of "The Gingerbread Man," in so far as the latke jumps out the frying pan, runs around the community, a word which here means "places where there are Christmas objects," and---to give it all away---gets eaten in the end.
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LibraryThing member lquilter
I am personally a little creeped out by anthropomorphizing food things, which talk in the first person about being cooked and being delicious. But setting that aside, I found this little book charming and very funny, and interpretable on multiple levels. My 5yo loved the "AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH" that kept
We will read again.
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repeating. My partner and I snickered over the commentaries on Christmas. "Let me tell you a funny story..." about pagans and Christmas. Heh. We will read again.
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LibraryThing member tstato1
SUMMARY
On a cool, winter night, a latke was born. It screamed and ran though the town, encountering various Christmas icons. When I decided to stop and rest at a pine tree, a Jewish family took it home and ate it.
REVIEW
I thought this book was a great way to learn about some aspects of Hanukkah. The
On a cool, winter night, a latke was born. It screamed and ran though the town, encountering various Christmas icons. When I decided to stop and rest at a pine tree, a Jewish family took it home and ate it.
REVIEW
I thought this book was a great way to learn about some aspects of Hanukkah. The
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text is very playful and humorous, which makes it very engaging to read. I didn't realize that the latke was actually symbolic. The author also throws in some definitions for higher-level words. For example, he uses the word unabated and follows it by saying, "a phrase which here means "The latke was still very annoyed at the objects with whom it had spoken." I think this a nice way to provide clarification and understanding to the story. Overall, the book definitely shared the significance of the latke to Hanukkah. Show Less
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
This was a funny and cute book. It was about a latke (potato pancake) who jumped out of a frying pan of hot oil and went screaming out of the house. On its travels outside, it encountered several things Christmas-related. That left the latke confused and alone. That is...until a Jewish woodcutter
I liked this book for several reasons. One is that I often find myself as a Jew in the Christmas holiday season conundrum in which I can never seem to get away from those things not of my own religion. I found comfort in the fact that the latke made it into a home where he belonged and felt comfortable. I liked that this book had a message that it's okay to be different. I also thought this book would be really fun to read to someone very young...especially the pages on which the latke could not stop screaming!
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found the latke and brought it home. There it had even more to scream about because it was eaten!I liked this book for several reasons. One is that I often find myself as a Jew in the Christmas holiday season conundrum in which I can never seem to get away from those things not of my own religion. I found comfort in the fact that the latke made it into a home where he belonged and felt comfortable. I liked that this book had a message that it's okay to be different. I also thought this book would be really fun to read to someone very young...especially the pages on which the latke could not stop screaming!
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LibraryThing member Eoin
I was hoping it would be prettier. It's pretty, but half the illustrations are the same. I mean, exactly the same. Just the same illustration reprinted on different pages. Seems lazy.
LibraryThing member sarahlh
What's there not to love about an illustrated book centered around a screaming potato pancake? Nothing that's what. It manages to be both darkly humorous and immensely instructive on the history of Hanukkah. The art itself is colorful and clean and very expressive. May Lemony Snicket never stop
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writing books like this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member raschneid
Well that was charmingly snarky. I think my favorite part is still the deadpan cover copy.
LibraryThing member NeitherNora
This is officially one of my favorite holiday books. Finding that delicate balance between informative, cultural, and hilarious, this is one to hold onto.
LibraryThing member h3athrow
Lemony Snicket skews a little younger with this Christian-Jewish holiday tale of tolerance and understanding. Made me want potato pancakes! The illustrations are fun, but I guess I don't get the humor of a screaming latke, especially the two-page spreads.