The Bad Beginning

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (1999) by Lemony Snicket.
ISBN: 0-06-440766-7

After their parents die in a fire, the Baudeliare kids -14 year old Violet, 12 year old Klaus and their baby sister Sunny, are sent to live with a horrible relative. Count Olaf was a disreputable actor, belonging to an unsavory theatre troupe, who lived in a dilapidated house with filthy rooms. Friendly Justice Strauss lives next door in her lovely house with a big library and takes and interest in the children. Mr. Poe, the banker who's the executor of the estate, thinks the children are just learning to adjust to their new home when they tell him how evil the Count is.

Although the children's fortune could not be touched for a few years, Count Olaf set out to get his hands on it. He schemes to force Violet to marry him by holding Sunny hostage. Good thing Violet is an inventive genius and Klaus has a propensity for reading and research; abilities that aid them in escaping this unfortunate event.

This is the first of thirteen books; the beginning of many unfortunate predicaments to befall the children. These books, with a mix of dark humor, absurd events and odd characters, have a delightful appeal. Each chapter begins with a detailed pencil drawing, evoking more curiousity about the its contents. Snicket uses vocabulary that the reader may find challenging, but cleverly and seamlessly includes a definition to carry the reader. Fun read for 9 to 13 year olds. (I had a 9th grader start reading last year because of these books.)

A Series of Unfortunate Events books and more can be found at Lemony Snicket.

Read-Alikes: If you like A Series of Unfortunate Events, you may like the Roald Dahl books - James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.