In the darkly hilarious book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, author Lemony Snicket shares with readers everything he knows about the Baudelaire family. After much careful research on the Baudelaires, a very wealthy bunch who seem to be the unluckiest clan in the world, Snicket is an expert.

It makes perfect sense that the series starts at the beginning with --- THE BAD BEGINNING, Book the First. It's in this title that we learn how children Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny Baudelaire become orphans. And from that moment on, we're on a roller coaster ride as the Baudelaires face danger, adventure, and doom at every turn. Of course, along with all the gloominess come some pretty good laughs. In all, thirteen books are planned --- a most unlucky number.

So explore our feature and find out more about these unusual books and their mysterious author.You won't want to miss this unique and very funny reading experience!

----- Shannon Maughan

THE BAD BEGINNING: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the First
by Lemony Snicket
HarperTrophy
ISBN: 0064407667
Ages 10-up
192 pages

Just as they are enjoying a day at Briny Beach, the three Baudelaire children --- 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus and baby Sunny --- receive some bad news. Mr. Poe, a friend of the family, comes trekking across the foggy beach to tell the Baudelaires that their parents have died in a fire that also burned down the family mansion. Now orphaned, the Baudelaires face an uncertain future. They are soon packed off to their new guardian --- the icky Count Olaf, who is a distant cousin. But when they move in with the Count, the Baudelaire children are certain that he does not care about them --- he only wants to get his hands on the fortune Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire left behind. See if they are right, as you read this exciting and humorous tale of mystery.

THE REPTILE ROOM: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Second
by Lemony Snicket
HarperTrophy
ISBN: 0064407675
Ages 10-up
190 pages

In this second installment in the series, the Baudelaire orphans have, for the moment, escaped the clutches of Count Olaf, the evil, greedy relative who tried to steal their family fortune. Now the Baudelaires are on their way to meet another distant family member, Dr. Montgomery, Mr. Baudelaire's cousin's wife's brother. Dr. Montgomery (or "Uncle Monty" as he likes to be called) is a kindly herpetologist (a scientist that studies snakes) who happens to have a tasty recipe for coconut cream cake. But the children are in for a thrill when they accompany Uncle Monty on a research trip. And if Uncle Monty's slithery subjects aren't enough to worry about, Count Olaf makes another appearance, vowing to get the Baudelaire money he so desires.

THE WIDE WINDOW: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Third
by Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064407683
Ages 10-up
214 pages

In Book 3, the Baudelaire orphans are off to meet the third distant relative to take them in, Mrs. Anwhistle, otherwiseknown as Aunt Josephine, who lives on Lake Lachrymose and is afraid of just about everything, from the stove to the telephone to doorknobs. Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire never would have guessed that they'd soon be facing a hurricane, and a mysterious man named Captain Sham, who looks an awful lot like the revolting Count Olaf, who still wants to steal the Baudelaires' fortune.

JAMIE THE MISERABLE MILL: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fourth
by Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064407691
Ages 10-up
214 pages

Having run out of relatives to take them in, the Baudelaire orphans are now on their way to Paltryville, where their family friend Mr. Poe has arranged for them to live with a caretaker at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Unfortunately, the children are soon put to work in the mill, under a terrible foreman --- and they haven't even met their guardian yet! The tricky work of a hypnotist and an accident at the mill just add to their misery. And, of course, there is always the threat of Count Olaf showing up, eager to get his greedy hands on the Baudelaire money.

THE AUSTERE ACADEMY: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fifth
by Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064408639
Ages 10-up
220 pages

Having escaped danger and Count Olaf once again, the Baudelaire children are in need of a place to live and a guardian to look after them. This time around their banker and family friend Mr. Poe finds them a spot at Prufrock Prepatory School. Violet and Klaus, intelligent and curious children both, should love being at this boarding school. But it's unlike any school they've every imagined. They are up against dreadful teachers and faculty, like vice principal Nero (who fancies himself a great violinist), and nasty students like the rude and pushy Carmelita Spats. Worse still, they are forced to live in the Orphans Shack on campus, a place that features dripping fungus and face snapping crabs. Luckily, they befriend some other orphans there, which makes things seem a little brighter --- at least for awhile. But how bright can things get at a school where the motto is: Memento Mori (Rememember you will die)?

THE ERSATZ ELEVATOR: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Sixth
by Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064408647
Ages 10-up
220 pages

The Baudelaires have left Prufrock Prep and yes, have once again outrun Count Olaf. In this installment of the series, the orphans are adopted by a very wealthy couple --- Esmé Gigi Geniveve Squalor and her husband Jerome --- who live in a penthouse apartment on Dark Avenue. Their new home is actually quite near the area in the city where the Baudelaire mansion used to be (before it burned down, killing Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire). While things would seem rosy, readers of the series know that can't last for long. After much creepy adventure, including a dangerous rescue in an empty elevator shaft, the Baudelaire orphans are sure to meet up with Count Olaf (in a clever disguise, no doubt).

THE VILE VILLAGE: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Seventh (May 2001)
by Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0064408655
Ages 10-up
128 pages

Things at the Dark Avenue penthouse obviously ended up in an awful way, because the Baudelaire orphans are moving on yet again --- this time to a vile village that has a strict council, a censored library, a prison mishap and a gargantuan Nevermore Tree --- the largest tree the Baudelaires had ever seen --- filled with a flock of scary-looking black crows. Could Count Olaf be far behind? Read this book and find out.

© Copyright 2002, Kidsreads.com - All Rights Reserved.

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Frequently Asked Questions, Answered by Lemony Snicket

Q. How did you start writing A Series of Unfortunate Events?
A. For various personal and legal reasons, I began researching the terrible things that happened to the three Baudelaire children following the death of their parents. The good people at HarperCollins offered to publish my findings, both as cautionary tales and for the general good.

Q. Did your own childhood inspire aspects or events in your books?
A. What happened to me in my childhood in no way resembles what happened to the Baudelaire orphans. When I was very young, however, I was taught the power of the written word and the importance of exposing evil wherever I found it, which are two of my guiding principles.

Q. What were some of your hobbies as a child?
A. Taxidermy and playing the harpsichord.

Q. How do young people respond to your books?
A. People, young and old, have responded to my books with a mixture of shock, horror, melancholy, resignation, and enthusiasm.

Q. What was your favorite book as a child?
A. Dino Buzzati's THE BEARS' FAMOUS INVASION OF SICILY.

Q. What advice do you give to children who want to be writers?
A. Avoid wearing squaky shoes when listening at keyholes.

Q. What do you do to prepare to write?
A. I look at the only photograph I have of my beloved Beatrice, and I say to myself: If you do not write these books, her wrongful death will go unpunished.

Q. Are you a real person?
A. Of course. Aren't you?

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Character Sketches

VIOLET BAUDELAIRE is fourteen years old, and in my opinion, one of the greatest inventors of her time. If you ever see her with her hair tied up in a ribbon to keep it out of her eyes, it means that the gears and levers of her inventing mind are whirring at full force and that soon a spectacular invention will appear. It is unfortunate that so much of her inventing energy has been spent rescuing the three Baudelaire children from harm, rahter than, say, producing a helicopter that runs on the power of rubberbands, but that is the way the story goes.

KLAUS BAUDELAIRE, the middle child, wears glasses, which gives the impression that he is quite bookish. This impression is entirely correct. Stored in this remarkable young man's mind is the information contained in hundreds and hundreds of books, and even the destruction of the enormous library in his parents' home has not stopped him from continuing his literary education. I often wish he was by my side, to assist me in my own research, but his skills are usually spent cooking up plans to undo Count Olaf's treachery.

SUNNY BAUDELAIRE is an infant and thus the youngest of the three orphans. Because she is an infant, she has not had the opportunity to accomplish as much as her siblings, but she has a number of personal attributes that are likely to be of interest to readers. The first four attributes that come to mind are her very sharp teeth, which she likes to use at every opportunity. These teeth are so sharp that they can serve as weapons, and I'm sorry to say that she has been forced to use them as such. Please note that Sunny tends to speak in curious syllables that are sometimes difficult to understand, so I have endeavored to translate them as best I can in the text of these books.

Lastly, there is COUNT OLAF, and I have no interest in saying anything at all about this revolting man. He is filthy, he is treacherous, and all he thinks about is the enormous fortune tht the Baudelaire parents left behind. He has only one eyebrow, which would normally make him easy to spot, but he tends to disguise himself as he chases after the three children, hatching more and more dastardly plans, and you can see why I am not going to waste any time discussing him at all. As for his comrades --- a revolting crew of employeeds, including a hook-handed man, two women who have powder-white faces, a sinister bald man with a long nose, and an enormous creature who looks like neither man nor woman --- the less said about them the better.

------ Lemony Snicket

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