by Megan Stoddard

Created on: November 30, 2010

“The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story” is full of surprises, unexpected twists, and Lemony Snicket’s characteristic sardonic, brilliant wit. While it is officially a children’s story, its sly humor will be better understood by adults.

It is a snowy winter night in an unnamed village. At the one house in town not decked with Christmas lights, a latke is being fried in oil. The hot oil hurts the latke so much that he jumps out of the pan and runs out the window screaming.

At first glance, this seems to be a take on “The Gingerbread Man.” But it is not. No one is chasing the latke. Instead, the latke must negotiate a path through streets full of objects that insist he belongs with Christmas. To each one, the latke tells part of the Hanukkah story, trying to explain how latkes fit with Hanukkah and Hanukkah is not at all like Christmas. Each object brushes that off. The latke continues to scream with frustration.

A string of Christmas lights suggests that he’s nothing but a hash brown and would go well with Christmas ham. A candy cane says that the story of Hanukkah, with the Maccabees hiding in caves, is just like Mary and Joseph. A fir tree he rests under responds to his Hanukkah story by telling him traditions can be combined, and there’s a funny story about pagan rituals....

Snicket deftly uses the holiday trappings to portray the dominance of Christmas over Hanukkah and the aggravating assumption that Hanukkah is the “Jewish Christmas.” The Christmas lights come right out and tell the latke that it is their time to dominate the night. The house where the latke is made is described as being under suspicion because it is not decorated for Christmas. Meanwhile, the poor latke struggles to define his holiday on its terms.

The title itself is a wonderfully subversive twist. “The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming” is really a Hanukkah story... except that it is also a Christmas story. It is a story about Christmas dominating the season and Hanukkah’s struggle for recognition. One can easily see a parallel with the Maccabees.

For people unfamiliar with Hanukkah, “The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming” gives a thorough, but simple, explanation of why and how it is celebrated, through the latke’s repeated story. For those who celebrate the holiday, this book cleverly names exactly how it feels to have it constantly treated as a shabby cousin to Christmas. No matter which holidays you celebrate, “The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story” is an essential book for the month of December.

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