Rating: 
Summary: Got my kid to read!
Review: My son is 10 and getting him to want to read anything on his own has been always been a HUGE struggle. He loves Harry Potter, but just isn't interested in reading the books (he'd rather just wait for the next movie). We bought him this book for Christmas, and he read it of his own free will, without much prompting from me. He loved it and couldn't wait to buy the second book in the series. He is reading Reptile Room now and is actually choosing to read over playing video games!!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book of all!
Review: If I were you then I would read the The Bad Begining, then start to read the rest. These book are really good but don't read the ninth one then read the first one, start from one then go on up. This book about three cildren who always have bad luck, first somthing bad happens to their parents so the went to their fifth cousin and kived with him. This fifth cousin always made them do hard, hard, hard, chores, like paint the ceiling, fix the windows, and many more. Then he put the baby on a tower and tells the oldest child to do something very important, and she dosent's do it, he'll drop the baby. so if were you I would read this wonderful book. :)
Rating:
Summary: Beginnings of Fun Reading!
Review: I just finished this fun and fast moving book by Lemony. Very entertaining and educational! Great reading for children who have learned to read on their own. Readers will enjoy parts like pg.94 where Klaus "found himself reading the same sentenece over and over", as well as the explaintory phrases for introducing words like rickety (pg. 2) (Of course, be sure to look up nefarious and fiendish, since the author does not supply this with definitions. It would be fun to use it as a class activity though.) Although the author does delivery on his promise that this book has also a "unhappy ending", the readers are left with hope that the Baudelaire children will triumph in any bad circumstance, even if its only for a little while.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't even waste your time...
Review: This book is horrible, but it's title says it all. This book makes you very scared, not in a fun way. I hate the whole "forbidden" thing. If Leminy Stikrit, or what ever the authors name is does not want readers to read his book, why publish this series? It's one horrible thing after another, why read a book like this at these times? I had bad dreams about it, my theory is to stay happy and don't let any thing get in the way of it. This book does that. Plus it has a horrible ending, I mean at least pull it all together at the end of the book so readers finish happy. Where does this even take place? The author describes it as a dirty city, but what city? Is Lippicy Snubbit making fun of where I live? Anyway, I suggest you don't crash yourself by reading this. You will probably stay in a bad mood for a week or two.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing
Review: If I could have given this book 0 stars I would have. My 10 year
old son read it and hated it. I decided to read it and for the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would want to read any
of these books. You would have to have a warped sense of humor to
find these books the least bit entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Overdoing it?
Review: While I thoroughly enjoy all of the books by "Lemony Snicket" (do you honestly think that's his real name?) there is always the fact that he's overdoing it. Honestly...if the orphans had luck that bad their fortune would already have been taken away and they would already have been killed. Why are they still alive? Because Lemony Snicket wants money.But besides for that, the plots are satisfyingly intricated with quite a bit of strange surprises, even though there is always that slight lacking of maturity and the slight shadow of naivette that slightly destroys their would-be-almost-gothic darkness. However, they are simply not dark enough. There is always a bit of a sarcastic outlook without the type of humor that can be considered 'gothic'. All in all, they are perceieved in the wrong way. Lemony Snicket's books are not goth-like novels--more for people who enjoy being either saddened or who like to compare their own situations with the situations of others to show themselves that their life is not bad. Not a bad idea. I have almost the entire series, but I read the books many times each. Unfortunately, as the author is trying harder and harder to finish his books quickly, he is beginning to lack the almsot realistic quality of his first book, The Bad Beginning. The rest of the books did not have a tone even remotely as realistic, with the exception of The Unauthorized Autobiography The Wide Window, and The Reptile Room, but they simply didn't share the same air. The books are all worth a read, but the quality is definitely slowly deteriorating as the series continues. CasiquireZiphonium
Rating:
Summary: A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
Review: The Bad Beginning, a modern fantasy, keeps readers in tune with all the mishaps of the Baudelaire children. Snicket pulls readers in with the misfortune of wealthy children who are used to living carefree, to children who have been reduced to house slaves for a distant relative. The few illustrations in the book, placed in just the right place to focus the reader's attention to specific details showed important features. THe Bad Beginning strengths were cretainly plot development with its constant rise in action and character development as we see the children develop throughout the story to save their lives.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Beginning
Review: "Was ever book containing such vile matter so fairly bound?" I found out about these books when I worked at a children's museum and can say that the appeal extends to adults as well. These books follow a long tradition of neither condescending to nor underestimating the intelligence of children (although this tradition has been trampled and spit on in the last few decades). As you will read in the other reviews, the books have some dark subject matter. However, it is dispensed with a hefty dose of IRONY. Imagine that in these days of overprotected soccer brats, as another reviewer called them. No, kids are not too stupid to understand irony. If you would let your kids read Harry Potter or Roald Dahl, you can let them read these and they just might ENJOY themselves, an experience too few kids have when reading. I highly recommend that everyone jump on board with the Baudelaire orphans.
Rating:
Summary: this is creepy...extreamly creepy
Review: the bad beginning (a series of unfortunate events, book 1) is depressing, boring,and creepy. this story has no story line and plot. all it is is a bunch of "unfortunate events" rolled into one! the characters (sunny,klaus, violet, count olef, jusstice struass ect.) are all one deminsional and extreamly hard to relate (if a person could relate to them at all). the author is very clear that the book is not a happy one, and right he was! this book contains no happy events whatsoever. the book starts out with the bauldaire kids spending a day at briny beach where they then find out their parents have died in a fire from a guy named mr. poe, go to live at his house for one night, and then go to live with their uncle count olef who is adopting them. count olef is an evil man who out to steal the kids fortune that their parents left them. sound interesting? well...it's not. by the end of the book count olef plans on stealing the bauldair children's fortune along with marrying voilet. the count also abuses the children horriably. this book is not okay for the age group that it is pointing at (9-12) year olds. also, the author explains words every other sentence, which gets extreamly annoying. you would think that the words explained here, 9-12 year olds would already know...but acording to the author of this book they don't. i've read many good books in my life, and this is not one of them. this is one of the worst i've ever read. i got a headache from reading it. to all those people who said this book was good...what is wrong with you? this is horriable! also, what kind of pen name is lemony snikket?
Rating: 
Summary: Good Writing, but NOT Age Appropriate!
Review: In Lemony Snicket's, "The Bad Beginning," the Bauldaire children are faced with catastrophe after catastrophe. The author does indeed earn a few "good" points in this book. To mention a few: He defines many difficult to understand words and describes the meaning in context. Also, he winds this tale in such a way that the reader feels as though he/she is sitting around a fire, listening to these frightful events.
On the other hand, I find a few problems with the content that I cannot overlook. As both a teacher and a parent, I don't feel that the content of the book is appropriate for this age group. For example, the general mood of the plot is dreary and hopeless: a mood that I don't want my child focusing on all hours of the night, as any good story line tends to do to children. In addition, Snicket refers to a bank robbery and the manner in which one would mastermind such a plan: again, a well-planned crime is not on my list of teahable information. Next, Snicket makes a number of references to the eldest of the children, Violet, that are sexual in nature. Any reader, at this target age, can figure out his intentions when the evil-doer, Count Olaf, mentions her beauty and strokes her face continuously throughout the book. Also, the idea that an infant is to be dangled from a delapitated tower for 2 days may leave children with a VERY false idea that an infant could go without food, changings, etc.. for this period of time and only yell out, upon her release, that she would like "cake." This angle is sick in itself without any elaboration on the idea of child abuse. E.A. Poe may not have committed the crimes that he concocts, but I certainly would not want my children associated with him! Last, Snicket mentions that he is not allowed, by law, to enter an area of land that is probably near you (speaking to the reader). This statement in itself leads one to believe that the speaker is NOT a law abiding citizen and has been punished by being banned from MY home town. Why then, would I want to delve into this speaker's mind? As a child, I'm guessing that this would arouse a sense of danger and overwhelm my curiosity. Again, this is NOT a curiosity that I want my child being curious about.
Some of these points may seem minor to some people, but if there is anything that I have learned, it is that good influences breed good ambitions; likewise, bad influences breed a poor sense of judgement and dangerous curiosities. As a 6th grade teacher, I would be extremely apprehensive in reading this to my students, and my child for that matter. Again, as an adult, I applaud Snicket's writing skills; otherwise, I do not feel that the content of this book is fit for budding youngsters. If Mr. Snicket were to decide to "up" the vocabulary, increase the age of the child characters, and extend the length of the book, then this would be both interesting reading and appropriate for an older audience. Until then, I will choose to label this "Bad Beginning" as it really is: a bad beginning for this age group.
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