Rating: 
Summary: The Bad Beginning
Review: Here's the premise: mix the Boxcar Children's plucky orphans with the black humor and neo-Victorian imagery of Edward Gory. The Boxcar children, for those who don't know, is a successful series from the 50's about plucky orphaned brothers and sisters who stick together to overcome adversity. Gory is probably most widely know for his opening credits for the PBS Mystery series a few years back. Funny idea. Why then is the "book the first" of this series so unredeemably bad (and here bad is a word that denotes worse than mediocre)? One reason, obviously enough, is that it is not written by Edward Gory, despite illustrations intended to be a copyright infringement away Gory's signature art, right down to the sad, round-faced kids. What is most critically missing is Gory's whimsy. For example, early in the book the children's parents are killed, but not by a herd of stampeding pachyderms or an errant zeppelin or a nameless dread from under the stairs, but when their house catches on fire. Does that sound funny? It isn't particularly. By keeping us distant from his characters who meet cruel fate, Gory makes us squirm when we laugh at their terrible disasters. But in this book, the author intentionally or otherwise leads us sympathize with the loyal children who mourn their parents and cry through the night at the lovelessness of their world. The book quickly becomes a strange sermon where the message is not just that bad things can happen to good people, but that bad things must happen to good people. And the ceaseless litany of badness is implausible and tiresome, people and institutions behaving unrealistically and illogically. At the end of the story, the children's hope of a happy life is dashed and the only explanation seems to be that the editors wanted to preserve the possibility of a second book. I doubt that this nihilistic universe is one that most parent would want to introduce to their children, although the effect is probably accidental. The book has the feel of something written by committee, right down to the innominate author. It will be interesting to see is whether Scholastic's considerable credibility with the younger set and a good concept can make up for this poor execution.
Rating: 
Summary: The Bad Beginning!
Review: I thought this book was really good. This book is very interesting because it has a lot of scaringly things in it. These three poor children were living a happy life, they had everything they wanted but one day they found out the bad news. The bad news was that there parents were killed in a fire, and they had to go live with there uncle who was very wierd and mean to the three children. The three children didnt even know this uncle of theres they didn't even know that he exsisted. If you like scary or terriable things then you should read this book, becauase you'll love it a lot if thats what you like. But if you like peacful and things that make you happy then you'll hate this book. I like peacful kinds of books but i didn't know that it would be this owful, but i still liked it a lot because it was also like a mystery to. They had to find something out without letting there so called father know. If you like books that make you fall out of your seet then you should go out right know and get this book. You'll love it!!
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning
Review: This was a good book. It was about three unluckie children. Thier names were Violet,Klaus,and Sunny. The first unluckie thing that happend to them is thier house and parents were killed in a fire when the kids were at the beach. Then they were sent to live with a mean man that they had never met. This man made the children do very hard things. Like one day he had his friends over and the children had to make dinner for 10 people.But the olny reason that the mean man was keeping the children was so that he could take the fortune that the kid's parents left. Will he ever get the money,or will he be left pennyless?
Rating: 
Summary: This book is not meant to be taken seriously
Review: My sons (ages 11 and 9)loved this book. I read it aloud to my youngest and the oldest wanted to listen. We're now 3/4 of the way through the second book, and they love it just as much. Why? Because they know it's not meant to be taken seriously. I find it amusing that one reviewer here who was seeking something for her child between Harry Potter books was outraged that Klaus is struck by Count Olaf. That doesn't seem nearly as disturbing as when one of the Harry Potter characters cuts off his own hand and slits Harry's after a teen is murdered in the last Potter book. Although the children in The Bad Beginning get into dire circumstances, this book has an unmistakable sense of humor and is more along the lines of the unfortunate childhoods in all of Dickens's novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice idea, poor execution
Review: I loved the idea of unhappy-ending stories for kids. The books look gorgeous, the illustrations are lovely, the children have the potential to be interesting -- but I can't bring myself to care that much about the main characters. The character of the baby, Sunny, is especially unconvincing. The writing style teeters between funny and pretentious, but mostly ends up on the pretentious side. I found the explanations of word meanings annoying and patronising, although I'm an adult so maybe my opinion shouldn't count. Perhaps a child would find the definitions useful, but most unfamiliar words can be worked out from the context, and those that can't can be looked up in a dictionary. I think the concept has potential, but I was disappointed with the execution in this instance.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely not insipid!
Review: This was extremely funny, although the next 4 books are better. This is more of just an introduction to the series, but don't get discouraged if it doesn't catch your interest right away. Try the next book before you judge the series as a whole. #2 is good, #3, is better, and #4 and #5 are awesome. You can't tell by the first half of the first book whether you'll like A Series of Unfortuante Events or not. So finish it, and the next book, before you decide.
Rating:
Summary: A Review for parents
Review: If you are looking for a series to steer your child to while waiting for the next Harry Potter to come out DO NOT SELECT this one. OR read it yourself first and see if this is what you want your child to read. It starts with 3 children becoming orphaned & being sent to live with a less then desirable relative, which is a popular plot device in literature. Once you get past the extremely annoying & condescending defining of large words (ever hear of context clues?) you discover that these children are abused & forced to live in inhumane conditions. Klaus is struck, raising a bruise on his face that is evident for days When they seek help from Mr. Poe he is too busy to listen. Violet the 14 year old is compelled to marry the evil Count Olaf. If she does not her baby sister Sunny, bound and gagged will be dropped from a tower. The children in the story are real and likeable and your children could relate to them. Children like to be scared, not terrified. The reality aspect of this story could be terrifying to some. We teach children to go to adults when abuse happens & the adults in this story do NOTHING. Remember you are your child's first teacher. Are these the values you want to pass on to them?May I suggest books by Patricia Wrede(Enchanted Forest Chronicles) Lloyd Alexander, Susan Cooper, The Chronicles of Naria by C.S. Lewis, Anne McCaffrey (For older Middle School)J.R.R.Tolkien, The Bailey Street School Series?
Rating:
Summary: The three little orphans and the big bad Olaf.
Review: Do you like happy stories with happy endings? Well if you do then this is not the book for you. In this horrendous book the Baudelaire children Sunny, Klaus, Violet, are on Briny Beach when they receive some horrible news from Mr. Poe. He said their parents had died in a fire! In this one book alone the children encounter a plot to steal their fortune, itchy clothing, a greedy and repulsive villain, and cold porridge for breakfast. So if you don't like books where things like this happen then this book isn't for you.
Rating:
Summary: Truely A Different Approach to Childrens Literature
Review: Writing a book about unfortunate events and unhappy endings is certainly a different approach in writing. The unusual sense of humor and plot of the book, in my opinion, attract kids to it. It was almost refreshing to have something other than a happy ending in a book, and someone letting kids know that the good guy doesn't always win. It entertains and keeps your attention to see what will happen next.
Rating:
Summary: ''Oh no, Count Olaf''
Review: If you like to read books where horrendous things happen to young children, then trust me you'll like these books. In this story three children's parents are killed in a fire that destroyed their home. Now they have to live with a relative that they didn't know they had. Their relative's name is Count Olaf. He makes the orphans do work. He even makes Sunny, the infant, do work. I thought that this was a pretty good book but some parts weren't very exciting.
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