Hadler created the exciting, humorous and appropriately dark adventures: A Series of Unfortunate Events.
We follow three siblings Violet, an incredible inventor, Klaus, an extraordinary reader and Sunny who has four very sharp teeth and loves to bite things.
There is no sugar coating in this story. The Bad Beginning (the first of the series), is just that. The children’s parents are killed by a fire in the family mansion and the children are sent off to live with distant relative, Count Olaf.
Life doesn’t improve for the Baudelaires as Count Olaf turns out to be a nasty and uncompassionate guardian who forces them to cook and clean in his gloomy, dirty house.
The children discover that the Count intends to get his hands on the enormous Baudelaire fortune and has a conniving plan in place. Thankfully the clever kids are able to stay two steps ahead of Olaf’s sinister tricks and they outsmart this fantastically dynamic character.
The popularity of the books saw them adapted in a movie in 2004. If you are a fan of gothic novels with a twist of humour, you can’t go past this series of well-written and entertaining stories.
- this review by Catherine Pelosi
Title: A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
Author/Illustrator: Lemony Snicket
Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd, A$$19.95 RRP
Publication Date: 1 October 2003
ISBN: 9780064407663
Format: Hardcover
For ages: 9-12 year olds
Type: Junior Fiction
