The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket
This week I am handing over my weekly spot to a guest contributer – Lèonie Sidgwick. Lèonie grew up reading pictures books and never stopped. She loves all things pictorial and she has created an image bank of inspiration in between working on various other projects. Lèonie is a fellow book worm devouring photographic text books, Illustrated novels and books with weightier topics, I thought she would be perfect for the Books to Read and Love section – Lauren.
Latkes and Candy Canes and Satire, Oh My!
Regardless of your religious persuasion, December is a time when families get together, and Lemony Snicket’s ‘The Latke Who Wouldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story’ is one of those brilliant childrens books that will keep the adult contingent as entertained as the kids.
As with all of Lemony Snicket’s books, the tone is satirical but funny throughout as the story reveals how a Latke is born in a house that is viewed with suspicion in the village for its lack of Christmas lights. Then, with perfect storybook logic, the Latke screams as it is fried in hot oil and escapes out of a window to continue its adventure. Echoing the tale of the Gingerbread Man leaping out of the oven and running away, the Latke meets a bossy string of fairy lights who dismisses him as “a hash brown”. Lisa Brown’s slick retro illustrations are a spot on foil to the satirical story, crisply heightening the angry Latke’s increased frustration at not being understood by a candy cane and pine tree whilst a cheeky squirrel in a Santa hat peers on from the corner of the page.
Snicket manages to squeeze in informative passages that explain the differences between Christmas and Hannukah in detail neatly into the action and younger readers will enjoy screaming along with the Latke throughout. Like all good fairytales the story is about finding a place where you belong but that doesn’t mean there’s a happy ending for everyone, [it IS a Lemony Snicket book after all]… - Lèonie
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