by kmessner

When Life Gives You Lemons… My review in the NY Times

My first picture book, SEA  MONSTER’S FIRST DAY, is reviewed in the New York Times this weekend, by none other than celebrity reviewer Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket of Series of Unfortunate Events fame.

My 10-year-old daughter’s reaction?   “Mom! Lemony Snicket READ your book?!”

We’re big Snicket fans at the Messner house. My daughter is constantly reading on our car trips, and frequently calls up from the back seat, “Turn down the radio! You have to hear this part,” and then shares a page or two of classic Snicket snark.

So it wasn’t entirely surprising when Handler’s review of Sea Monster was…well…a little lemony.

But still…the New York Times? Pretty cool stuff.


The fact that Sea Monster’s First Day is my best-selling book and seems to be connecting with its intended audience makes a slightly sour review much easier to take.  Who knows? Maybe Ernest the Sea Monster will send Mr. Snicket a thank you note. 🙂

4 Replies on “When Life Gives You Lemons… My review in the NY Times”

  1. Although I choose not to bet lemony, I didnt feel that reviewer really took much time with Seamonster. It was also obvious that he had prior experience with the other two authors. And common sense should tell you a brontosaurus wouldn’t be in the ocean. I had no trouble understanding what the book would be about based on the title. After reading the entire review, it sounds like the same amount of attention was not paid to each entry. But, this is just my opinion.

    1. Thanks, Kelly – One of my online friends pointed out the difference between this book’s sensibilities and the reviewer’s. Really…there’s nothing dark or sharp-edged about Ernest the Sea Monster. He’s a big, green, goofy, happy monster, after all… 🙂

  2. After reading this post I decided to asked my four year old what he though of Sea Monster: “Daddy, I love Ernest. He is my friend.”
    Great book! I teach fourth grade and I plan on reading Sea Monster when we go back to school in a couple of weeks. I even asked a first grade teacher in my building if I could read her class a book that first week back. Guess which book I’m going to read them? If you guessed Series of Unfortunate Event…sorry you were wrong. SEA MONSTER’S FIRST DAY of course:)