The wide window

Gr. 4^-7. Once again, Snicket recounts the tragic misadventures of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, whom we first met in The Bad Beginning [BKL N 15 99]. In this book, the Baudelaire children are passed to a new guardian, cousin Josephine, who is deathly afraid of almost everything (she serves cold cucumber soup in her frosty house because she's afraid that the stove is too dangerous). The children's first, villainous guardian, Count Olaf, pursues them still, in hopes of getting their fortune; and though the children have no trouble recognizing him in his new disguise as Captain Sham, Aunt Josephine is duped. In keeping with his old-fashioned tone, Snicket offers plenty of advice to readers in asides: "Violet groaned inwardly, which here means said nothing but felt disappointed at the prospect of another chilly dinner." The effect is often hilarious as well as edifying. Despite their cruel misfortunes, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny maintain their close bond and their resilient spirit, so that readers never truly worry that they will be defeated in this or their next adventure. --Susan Dove Lempke

Gr 5-8-The dreary, miserable cloud of disaster continues to follow the Baudelaire children in the third book of this series by Lemony Snicket (HarperCollins, 2000). As in the previous books, the orphaned Baudelaire children are placed in a relative's care by their kind-hearted, albeit bumbling guardian, Mr. Poe. Within minutes of arriving at their new home, they realize that life with paranoid, grammatically correct Aunt Josephine will only cause their current situation to go from bad to worse. The only redeeming factor to a life of slimy cold cucumber soup, living on the shores of a leech-filled lake, or the threat of an approaching hurricane is the absence of the revolting Count Olaf whose sole desire is to steal the Baudelaire fortune. But as luck would have it, Count Olaf is successful in finding the Baudelaires and conniving his way into their lives. Never have the subjects of child endangerment, fraud, and murder been so appealing to young readers. And never has reverse psychology worked its magic as it does when the author reminds youngsters that he is not forcing anyone to read the horrible tale he must tell. Lemony Snicket is the sole narrator and does a fine job, especially as the sneering voice of Count Olaf. His rhythm and voice inflections correctly reflect each character's situation and emotions. Audiobook collections with the first two titles will want to purchase this one; otherwise, purchase all three.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Portage County District Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The Baudelaire orphans (fourteen-year-old Violet, twelve-year-old Klaus, and baby Sunny) continue to endure their lamentable lives--first staying with phobic Aunt Josephine, then forced to work in a lumbermill--all the while evading the tattooed fortune hunter, Count Olaf. The pretentious literary voice which makes these parodies so clever also becomes repetitive over the long haul. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The third book in A Series of Unfortunate Events (The Bad Beginning, 1999, etc.) has all the stuff of its predecessors' melodrama--bold narration, dark humor, exaggerated emotions and dialogue, humorously stereotypical characters, and an overriding conflict between good and evil. The orphaned Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny, experiencing still more misfortune, are sent to live with their irrationally fearful, grammar-spouting Aunt Josephine in a drafty old house that teeters dangerously above the leech-filled Lake Lachrymose. Here, they encounter Captain Sham who dupes Aunt Josephine but not the Baudelaires. They suspect evil of him, for he is really the villainous Count Olaf, who aims to steal their fortune. Their heroic efforts and a few harrowing escapes make up the giddy, preposterous plot, full of hurricanes and leeches, a peg-legged pirate and a place called Curdled Cave. Children and fortunate adults will relish the good-natured wordplay and the attempts at the heights of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll; the three likable, independent orphans wend their way through modern fairy-tale action in a darkly humorous, look-out- for-the-next-one novel. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 10-12)

Gr. 4^-7. Once again, Snicket recounts the tragic misadventures of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, whom we first met in The Bad Beginning. In this book, the Baudelaire children are passed to a new guardian, cousin Josephine, who is deathly afraid of almost everything (she serves cold cucumber soup in her frosty house because she's afraid that the stove is too dangerous). The children's first, villainous guardian, Count Olaf, pursues them still, in hopes of getting their fortune; and though the children have no trouble recognizing him in his new disguise as Captain Sham, Aunt Josephine is duped. In keeping with his old-fashioned tone, Snicket offers plenty of advice to readers in asides: "Violet groaned inwardly, which here means said nothing but felt disappointed at the prospect of another chilly dinner." The effect is often hilarious as well as edifying. Despite their cruel misfortunes, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny maintain their close bond and their resilient spirit, so that readers never truly worry that they will be defeated in this or their next adventure. ((Reviewed February 1, 2000)) Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews

Gr 5-7-This is "Book the Third" in a series about the wealthy and clever but unfortunate Baudelaire children who were orphaned in a tragic fire. Pursued by the evil Count Olaf, who murdered their parents and their last caregiver, 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus, and baby Sunny are sent to elderly Aunt Josephine, a strange, fearful widow and grammarian. She lives in a house built on precarious stilts on the side of a hill overlooking Lake Lachrymose, inhabited by killer leeches. Of course, Count Olaf tracks them down and, disguised as a sailboat captain, fools Aunt Josephine-at least for a while. Olaf is ultimately exposed but not before he pushes Aunt Josephine into the leech-infested waters. So, the Baudelaires must find a new caregiver, who will be revealed to readers in "Book the Fourth." The writing is tongue-in-cheek John Bellairs, E. Nesbit, or Edward Eager with a little Norton Juster thrown in. The style is similar to the many books with old houses and rocky shores in Maine or Great Britain including the Edward Goreyesque illustrations. Unfortunately, the book misses the mark. The narrator is humorous but intrusive, explaining words and providing many obvious clues that surface later. Aunt Josephine's constant correction of vocabulary and grammar, while at first humorous, becomes annoying. The book is really not bad; it just tries too hard and there are so many similar books that are much better.-Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.