Off the Bookshelves: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket

If you are talking about holiday books, I LOVE this one. Probably because it is as mixed up and schizophrenic about the holidays as we are in our house. We celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, and every year it gets all mixed up and confused. This book captures that SO well. I get a great laugh every time.

Lemony Snicket is the author of the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books. His droll humor comes out in this book, as is evidenced when the latke (a traditional Jewish potato pancake) has to tell the Christmas lights that he is NOT A HASHBROWN! Underneath the humor and screaming (AHHHHHHH!)  is an educational message about what Hanukkah is and what some of the traditions are. It also provides a perspective on what it's like to be a non-Christmas celebrating person in a country absorbed by Christmas every year. In this respect, it's a fun and educational book, even for those with simpler and more straight-forward traditions. There is even a recipe for latkes at the end! Yum!

The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story