# Is "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming" by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) (McSweeney's Books, 2007) is identified by: Full title The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story, illustrated by Lisa Brown; McSweeney's Books, San Francisco, 2007. The US McSweeney's Books first edition, published October 31, 2007, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full title The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story, illustrated by Lisa Brown
- McSweeney's Books, San Francisco, 2007
- First printing carries the full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Issued as a foil-stamped hardcover bound in red cloth boards stamped in gilt, green and black, without a dust jacket, as issued (no jacket was ever present, so jacket points do not apply)
- Publisher imprint reads McSweeney's Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) |
| Publisher | McSweeney's Books |
| Year | 2007 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Full title The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story, illustrated by Lisa Brown |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Full title The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story, illustrated by Lisa Brown; McSweeney's Books, San Francisco, 2007. First printing carries the full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Issued as a foil-stamped hardcover bound in red cloth boards stamped in gilt, green and black, without a dust jacket, as issued (no jacket was ever present, so jacket points do not apply).

## Is this the true first?
The US McSweeney's Books first edition, published October 31, 2007, is the true first. A minor Snicket title with no competing earlier printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings advance the number line so the 1 no longer appears; the red-cloth foil-stamped binding is otherwise consistent across printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming* by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-latke-who-couldnt-stop-screaming
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.