Rating: 
Summary: Can't understand why...
Review: It amazes me, and I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY anyone could describe this book as a" delightful, funny, linguistically playful book". I am always on the lookout for books for my 7 year old grandson who is a gifted reader. Had I handed him this book without reading it first, I would have been horrified to find out the story line. It was an over-all depressing book. Even I had nightmares! Perhaps it would make a good reading / writing assignment at the high school level, but even then, I would hesitate to actually recommend it. If I could say something nice about this book, I would. However, I can't. It's back to Harry Potter, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, and Dealing With Dragons!
Rating: 
Summary: A great book for realists with a sense of humor
Review: If you are the type of person who blames everyone but yourself for the evils of the world, by all means DON'T read these books. However, if you have a healthy sense of reality and humor (or want to raise children who will!) then read and enjoy these delightful tales. Lemony Snicket writes for all those kids who know that adults aren't always on their side. His stories are funny, a little creepy and always interesting. The Baudelaire children are the best of what boy and girl heros in books should be and the adults, well, the adults might just be portrayed a little too accurately for some grown-ups to handle. As most children know, adults don't always do what's right, aren't always to be trusted and don't always believe what a child tells them. Reading some of the negative reviews here, some adults would prefer that children not know this. Silly grown-ups, your children already know far more than you understand. My daughter and I have read book the first and are rapidly demolishing book the second. They are smart books the way Roald Dahl books are smart. The author explains a lot of words or phrases, but not, in my opinion, in a "dumbing down" way. Many of the explainations are useful even for adults who know what the words already mean... for example, the explaination of "literal" vs. "figurative" in book the first. Enjoy the books and read them along with your kids. You'll be amazed at how much this writing stikes a chord with them!
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning-The Vile Village+6 more
Review: In the Bad Beginning,Violet,Klaus&Sunny are walking on the beach,having a great time.When Mr.Poe comes up and tells them that their parents have just died in a terrible fire.Boy,that starts a lot of trouble for them. Then they have to live with the terrible "Count Olaf" who in all the books is somebody different. for instance, In the Wide Window (#3) he plays the role of "Captain Sham" (sham means fake.) I think that if you read one of these books you should start the series.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderfully miserable beginning to this miserable series.
Review: Sometimes you think life just can't get any worse then it already is. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire have to get used to that knowledge from now on. After a terrible fire that killed their parents, they hoped they could recuperate and let life go on, even though their deaths disturbed them. They hoped for a better future. But when their uncle, Count Olaf, takes them into his home to 'care' for them, their miserable lives get even more unbearable. Count Olaf is no nice uncle, and he's all about discipline, greed, and cruelty. The poor orphans can't withstand the horror of living with their new caretaker. Because he's more then just horrible: he has a dark plan up his sleeve, and he'll do anything to reach his dreadful goal. This beginning is a very bad beginning indeed for the Baudelaire orphans, and tragedy is bound to pursue them everyehere they turn. However, compared to the other books in this miserable series by Lemony Snicket, it was a little dull and could have used a bit more plot. But readers will want to read even more when they're done with this dreadful first tale of the three Baudelaire orphans.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: I thought that The Bad Begining was a good book. It's about these kids whose parents die in a fire and they have to live with this stinky relative named Count Olaf. He's a very mean person. This is a must read book. I guarantee you'll like it!
Rating:
Summary: A bad beginning---headed for a bad series
Review: This is a book I will happily put in the category of well-written garbage. Not a book I'd recommend for the specified age group at all. The writing is excellent, sometimes moving. But...BUT this is a story of child abuse, plain and simple, and there's nothing funny about it. The children are victims, and nothing they do reduces their suffering. In The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken, the children are victims, yes, but they are resourceful and strong, and the story comes across as a fantasy. Lemony Snicket's series may well be intended as a fantasy, but the first one misses. The evil is unrelenting and the hurts inflicted too real. Make it real and let the kids reading know it's real, or keep it fantastic. I'll pass on the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: beat out Harry Potter by a trip to the moon and back.
Review: -It starts with Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They are all very creative. I have no idea how everything got so terrible for them. I can't believe that a house fire could make their lives so misrable. -For example, cooking for Count Olaf and his drunken crew, chopping wood for no apparent reason, almost marrying your worst nightmare, and watching their baby sister Sunny dangle out of a forbiddon tower. I wouldn't be able to stand it. -It would have been much nicer living with their neighbor. I have read the books up to number 4. i think that they have beat out harry potter by a trip to the moon and back. Alison
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunate Events Are A Pleasure To Read
Review: I have always enjoyed a challenge and a good book. From the warning in the first few lines of The Bad Beginning, I was hooked. Even the author's name - Lemony Snicket is intriguing. The main characters are the three orphaned Baudelaire children. What could be more gripping than reading about the tragedy that creates their situation and the constant struggle they endure against the vile Count Olaf, who, being their only distant relative, has custody of them now? There isn't a caring bone in his body! He even dangles the baby, Sunny out a window, in a cage, to force Claus and Violet to do what he wants. Why? He is after their huge inheritance. This little book has it all, including great vocabulary development. What an entertaining book - but no happy ending. Although this book was an assigned reading for my Children's Literature course, I enjoyed it and I am anxious to read all of the books in the series.
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Summary: One of My Favorites
Review: One of my favorite books is called "The Bad Beginning," by Lemony Snicket. I liked it because it was exciting and adventurous. It's about three Bauldelaire orphans that have very horrible fortune, even though they are very rich. Then they are adopted by their evil-eyed relative and he is doing all he can to get into their money. Then he comes up with an evil plan, part of which is threatening to kill the youngest Baudelaire orphan. What will happen to the Baudelaires next? Read on and find out. By Tia
Rating:
Summary: Clever, dark humor
Review: I thought this book was great - I loved the dark humor and the slightly pompous, over-the-top writing style. I don't find it at all depressing or nihilistic (as some of the critics here put it)for two reasons: first of all, these books read very much like FAIRY TALES, not realistic literature. The Baudelaires' predicament reminded me very much of Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, etc. etc. Are those stories depressing? Secondly, the Baudelaires are not passive victims. Through their intelligence, bravery and resourcefulness, they outwit and triumph over the evil Count Olaf. I find that empowering. True, they don't wind up in a happy ending, but they DO defeat the bad guy, and go on to further adventures. I also like the fact that Violet is a strong heroine, and that the books really stress the idea that reading is valuable. The Baudelaires read voraciously, both for pleasure and to research ways of foiling their oppressors. I agree that these books aren't for little kids, but certainly the 9-to-12-year-old crowd can enjoy them.
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