Reviews: School Library Journal Starred, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly
Ten year old Lewis Barnavelt is in for some changes in life. His parents were recently killed in a car accident and he’s being sent to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his Uncle Jonathan, a relative he’s never met. Uncle Jonathan lives in a mansion filled with old and amazing things. On his first night in New Zebedee Lewis notes Uncle Jonathan’s strange reaction to clocks along with the fact that he seems to have an awful lot of them in the house. Lewis soon hears the ticking of a clock in the walls.
Strange things happen in the house, with windows that change and coat rack mirrors that display life-like images. We find out that Uncle Jonathon and Mrs. Zimmerman, the next door neighbor, are both wizards albeit the rather harmless kind. We also find out that before Uncle Johnathon, the house had been lived in by a pair of evil wizards determined to destroy the world. The hidden clock has something to do with bringing the world to an end. Lewis accidentally speeds up the process when he attempts to impress his neighbor Tarby by reading a spell from his Uncle's magic book while in a cemetery on Halloween so that he can raise the dead. He soon finds out the the person he brought back to life is one of the evil wizards and now it's up to Lewis and to prevent the end of the world.
The original editions of the books in this series were illustrated by Edward Gorey and really add to the spooky, Gothic vibe.
Snicket, L., Helquist, B., & Kupperman, M. (1999). The bad beginning: Book the first, A series of unfortunate events. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Genres: Dark Comedy, Neo-Gothic, Mystery
Summary: Lemony Snicket, whose own story is shrouded in mystery, relates the tragic events of three orphaned siblings. The Bad Beginning is the first of thirteen woeful novels, introducing the Baudelaire children sitting in the rubble and ashes of their once beautiful home, facing the brutal reality that they will never see their parents again.
While the themes of this book are dark and distressing, the Baudelaire children are resilient, resourceful, and talented. Violet, the oldest, is a brilliant inventor. Klaus, the middle child, has read so many books, he is like a living encyclopedia. And Sunny, the baby who cannot yet walk or talk, has very sharp teeth for cutting or chopping things into bits.
The Baudelaire siblings are sent to live with their distant uncle, the arrogant Count Olaf, who proves to be cruel and selfish and will stop at nothing to seize the Baudelaire fortune. Can the children uncover Count Olaf’s scheme before it’s too late? Can they discover the truth of their parents’ death?
Notes:
Book One of thirteen: A Series of Unfortunate Events.
The Bad Beginning has won multiple literary awards, including the Colorado Children's Book Award, and the Nevada Young Readers Award. Other titles in this series have also been honored with multiple awards and nominations.