One of the kid's best Christmas books was a Hannukah book which barely got here in time for Christmas. McSweeney's just published Lemony Snicket's The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming at the end of October. Despite having recently bought piles of stuff from McSweeney's, including copies of all of Latke illustrator Lisa Brown's Baby Be Of Use boardbooks, we only found out about it when one of the kid's awesome crazy New York aunt-type family friends sent it in a latke care package [i.e., 1 book, 2 boxes of Manischewitz Homestyle Latke Mix].
The book's a little smart alecky, like I imagine most of Lemony Snicket's writing must be. And it's a little too chatty, like Roger Hargreaves' Little Men/Little Miss series, which could wear you down on repeated readings. But it's pretty funny; the tone is good; and it navigates the Hannukah vs. Christmas battlefront so perfectly, it makes me wonder if the book's not a stealth PR initiative by the Hannukah Bush Growers Association.
It'll be huge in Denver: buy The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket and Lisa Brown, $10 [amazon]
Previously: Baby, Earn Your Keep boardbooks from McSweeney's
I loved this book! My not-yet-3-year-old didn't quite get it, though he loves the illustrations. I'm looking forward to reading this every December :D
[our kid laughs uncontrollanly at the sanctioned screaming, the idea that a book reads, "AAAHHHHHH!" cracks her up, I guess. -ed.]
This requires further exploration, though maybe it isn't quite the text to introduce him to Judaism...
[as a joke, I picked up a My First Hannukah Boardbook from the bookswap shelf in our bldg's basement 2 Xmases ago, and the kid's loved it. Reads it all year. She still doesn't know what a Jew is, but she sure can count eight candles... plus the shamash. -ed.]
i love this book! i just bought it for an adult friend of mine, who, as a youngster, played the part of a latke in a hebrew school hannukah production. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!