Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but scary!
Review: I was very excited to hear about this series because I was looking for something good to read until the next Harry Potter book came out. However, I was glad in the end I had only purchased the first one because it scared me a great deal. Maybe it is the new-mom syndrome, but part of the story that dealt with a perilous situation for the baby horrified and terrified me. Plus, there seemed to be some underlying sexual undertones between some of the adults and children. As an educator, I did like how the author explained more complex vocabulary terms, but it did get a little old to an adult reader.
Rating: 
Summary: A series of Unfortunaate events.
Review: The Bad beginning is a great book. It is(obviously) about unlucky kids. They are orphans because their parents get killed in a fire. They stay with their parents friend mr. Poe until they find a family member that they can stay with, and the family member is...Count Olaf Ahhhhhh! he ends up being he big villain of the series. Unlike the other reviewers I think that the chracters are quite well done in these noveels.Lemony Sniket ( the pen name of Daniel Handler) does a great job as a writer in the stories, and it is written in my favorite form, third person. So far there are eight novels in the series and another scheduled for this October. So I would reccomend this series of books for ages 8 and over, and for children who enjoy suspense....... Grade A Goodbye ~~~~~~~~~~Dan~~~~
Rating:
Summary: by unanimous vote...
Review: I've been expanding my reading in Children's and Young Adult literature of late. I have read some really great authors for the first time. One author who strikes me as particularly engaging is Lemony Snicket. His books have not only riveted the attention of my children, they have spoken to me at the same time but on a higher level. In my experience, "The Bad Beginning," the first in Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" series, grabs the attention of children. They feel for the Baudelaire children. Their main reactions have been to the injustice of what the children are forced to go through. They celebrate the Baudelaire's eventual pseudo-triumph. Yet all the while, what I relished in Snicket's writing was the dripping irony and sarcasm (the book is soaked in it). A particular joy for me was the narrator's simplifying definitions of big words for the kids...they serve to put quite a spin on things. These books are rather short--you can read them in a day if you're adult (and they must make a fortune for the author). My wife has listened to books one and two on tape (read by the terrific Tim Curry) and says they are hysterical. Getting unanimous approval for anything in my family is tough. So this book must either be pretty good or pretty weird. I think its both. I recommend Lemony Snicket's "The Bad Beginning."
Rating: 
Summary: I can't find words fabulous enough to describe this !
Review: True, the Baudelaires are unlucky.As Lemony Snicket states, "Their misfortune began one day at Briny Beach". Violet, Klaus and Sunny, or, as I call them,Vi, Klaus, and Sun, are very nice and clever, but they are orphans, which they certainly don't deserve to be. After their parents' death, they are sent to live with the Chameleon (A.K.A.Count Olaf)who slaps them and gives them inordinate chores. Then one day Klaus finds out that Chameleon is planning to steal their fortune by -UGH!-marrying Vi. Then they are locked up and-ooops....I shouldn't say anymore, it'll spoil the book! By the way, I believe that Chameleon and his buddies set fire to the Baudelaire mansion.They are arsonists!
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning is really a Tremendous Twist in Literacy!
Review: This is a book worth your two hours. Okay, so what? You're 15 years old and can't stand "kiddy" books? Well, The Bad Beginning isn't like that. It doesn't matter what age you are... once you're reading this books, you'll be too rapped up in it to care. The author, Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) is amazing. I've been reading some books lately and I've realized he's really formulated his books off of the classics: Little Women,The Lord Of The Rings, and some others... and his later books off of the bestsellers (although his is also bestselling): Harry Potter (and some others of which I forget at the moment). And then, best of all, he's added his own twist, one of suspense, dread, and something that's so thrilling that it will not be forgotten all too soon. So, if you want me to summarize up my review, just look at my rating, it's probably the best way to describe Mr. Snicket's work and The Bad Beginning.
Rating:
Summary: What a strange idea.
Review: Reverse psychology in its most freakish form.
From the start of any of Lemony Snicket's books, on the back of his books, and throughout the pages, Snicket urges readers to put down the book and for the reader to pick up something happier. Who would have thought that a children's author would successfully convince children to keep reading his books by making his stories everything that kids, stereotypically, don't want to read.
Spread like encyclopedic lice throughout his books are helpful explanations as to what some of the larger words he uses in his story mean. Soon our children will be using words that we aren't even sure as to what the meanings of them are.
All in all Snicket's stories aren't really all the groundbreaking but are a delight to read simply for the author's commentary into the lives of the unfortunate Baudelaire children, and occasionally references to the author's own life.
I strongly recommend these books for anyone who enjoys Roald Dahl's style of writing, both in his children's stories and his more adult short stories. Snicket grabs your attention and squeezes it until a passerby could easily mistaken it for an Italian zucchini.
An instant classic for anyone who enjoys reading about other peoples woes.
Rating:
Summary: I like the illustrations, but not the story
Review: This book was compared to the Harry Potter books in a famous entertainment magazine and I decided to purchase it since I loved the Harry Potter books. I am not sure if the targetted age group for this book is the same as H.P., but it feels much more juvenile. The author keeps interrupting the story to define words, which is highly annoying. Also the characters are not very well developed and everything is very predictable. It does not live up to the hype. Check it out in a library before you spend your money on it.
Rating:
Summary: Throw back to classic tales for Children
Review: Once upon a time tale for and about children were dark and dreadful. The stepmother in the end of snow white dances to her death in iron shoes heated over hot coals, the little mermaid dies, these are not happy stories. These stories show that kids books don't always have to be light and happy, but explore the darker side of life. Also, rarely has there been a writer who feels that maybe, just maybe, it might be nice to explain the meanings of words to young children, in a way that does not demean them, but will allow them to retain the information
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning Grabs You
Review: The Bad Beginning by author Lemony Snicket is a classic tale of woe. Although terrible things happen to the Baudelaire children, the author cleverly uses his sense of humor to provide comedy relief. I would reccomend this book to any adult or teenager, as you have to be older to understand the quick and witty humor.
Rating:
Summary: The Best One I've read(So Far!)
Review: I've only read the first 4,but this is definatly the best one I've read!Count Olaf is the best villian since Voldermort(Harry Potter)!I didn't really want 2 read these books at first,but they turned out 2 be great,they replaced Harry Potter(who I've been a fan of since the first book came out)while i was waiting for book 5!
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