Title: The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1Author: Lemony Snicket
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 006075589X
Recommended for Grades 6-10
Genre: Fiction-Fantasy
Reader’s Annotation:
Things are starting badly for the three Baudelaire children. Very badly. And they're getting worse. Much, much worse.
Plot Summary:
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire have just been informed that their parents have died and their home has been destroyed in a terrible fire. They are now being shipped off to the home of their distant relative Count Olaf, who treats them horribly. He schemes to have the children participate in a play called "The Marvelous Marriage" in which he will legally marry Violet in order to obtain the Baudelaire fortune. If Violet or Klaus try to stop him, baby Sunny will be killed. Each child must use their skills, Violet as an inventor, Klaus as a researcher, and baby Sunny's love of biting, in order to escape Count Olaf.
Evaluation:
The Series of Unfortunate Events is morbid and is filled with tragedy, but also love and humor. Difficult words are often defined to help build the vocabulary of the reader and subtle word play will keep older teens interested.
Notes:
There are 12 other books in The Series of Unfortunate Events:
The Reptile Room
The Wide Window
The Miserable Mill
The Austere Academy
The Ersatz Elevator
The Vile Village
The Hostile Hospital
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Slippery Slope
The Grim Grotto
The Penultimate Peril
The End
In 2004 Paramount Pictures released Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events based on the first three books in the series.
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