MMGM: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Today's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday pick:

Books 1-13, A Series of Unfortunate Events
These covers are out of order!?!

A Series of 
Unfortunate Events

Written by Lemony Snicket
Cover by Brett Helquist
HarperCollins, 1999
Ages 8-12, Lexile 1010L
Avg 263 pages, Avg 41000 words


Themes:
Misfortune, Misery, Despair, Orphans

Opening:
"If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle. This is because not very many happy things happened in the lives of the three Baudelaire youngsters. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire were intelligent children, and they were charming, and resourceful, and they had pleasant facial features, but they were extremely unlucky, and most everything that happened to them was rife with misfortune, misery, and despair. I am sorry to tell you this, but that is how the story goes."


Thoughts:
A Series of Unfortunate Events follow the misadventures of three orphans as they unravel their parents mysterious past and their uncertain future. All the while they are pursued by a villain-to-end-all-villains, count Olaf. Though the later books were a bit plotless, and the ending was somewhat unsatisfying, the grim humor, inventive storytelling, and iconic Snicket style from dedication to jacket blurb are worth turning every page.

And now random tips:
Definitely start with The Bad Beginning. Read them in order. Don't skip the front and back matter including the dedication, the jacket blurbs, and the author's note. Seriously.
The Wide Window remains my favorite. The Grim Grotto my least. Hang in there. I thought the books lost a little steam by book 8, but 9 is hilarious.
You may want to take breaks in between. I found some of the humor loses its charm if you do all 550K-odd pages in a row.
Don't miss out on all the companion artwork by Brett Helquist. Also stop at his Etsy shop for some Baudelaire prints (some never before published!)
The cds are no substitute for the paper versions because many of the jokes depend on visual cues, but I do recommend the cds once you've read books 1-13. The author narrates his own audiobooks. His creepy deadpan isn't for everyone though, so the publisher rerecorded the series read by the unparalleled Tim Curry. (Have a handkerchief handy for his interpretation of Mr. Poe!)


Bonus: 
1. Our illustrious host, Shannon Messenger reviewed this series on her blog.

2. Want more Lemony Snicket madness? He has written plenty of other amazing books. I reviewed his fabulous picture book, The Composer is Dead, illustrated by Carson Ellis.
Kitty Cat at the Library reviewed All the Wrong Questions, the first book in a different series. All the Wrong Questions has a different voice, but the same quirky bent, this time with a noir twist.

3. Other MMGM bloggers recommend
Deadweather and Sunrise, by Geoff Rodkey, cover by Iacopo Bruno
Rooftoppers, by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Terry Fan
The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, by John Bemelmans Marciano, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
A Whole Nother Story, by Dr. Cuthbert Soup, illustrated by Jeffrey Timmins.


Deadweather and Sunrise,
The Chronicles of Egg #1
Reviewed by the Hopeful Heroine

Rooftoppers
Reviewed by Jenni Enzor

The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield
Reviewed by Always in the Middle

A Whole Nother Story,
Reviewed by Shannon Messenger

Visit the Friday Drive-In review of  A Series of Unfortunate Events.

View all the Summer Drive-In reviews for 2017.

Check out all the recommended titles for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday for September 11, 2017 available on Shannon Messenger's Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe.

Have you reviewed any Lemony Snicket books? Please leave your link in the comments below. Feel free to leave your other MG recommendations, too. Thanks!

Now Playing: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Perfect Picture Book Friday returns today, so this is the last book/movie review for the year. Join me next week for my picture book review of Blue Sky White Stars.

Welcome to the Bookish Ambition 

Summer Drive-In  

The Circle Drive-In from my childhood. Still open and now with double features on two screens!

Now Playing: 
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Written by Lemony Snicket
Cover by Brett Helquist
HarperCollins, 1999
Ages 8-12, Lexile 1010L


A Series of Unfortunate Events,
Netflix, 2017

A Series of Unfortunate Events, Complete Wreck (#1-13)
HarperCollins, 1999

Themes:
Misfortune, Misery, Despair, Orphans

Highlights from the book? 

• The tongue-in-cheek cover copy, backmatter, dedication, etc.
• Brett Helquist's illustrations
• Grammar jokes
• Bizarre humor

Highlights from the series?

• Count Olaf
• Music written by Nick Urata
• Attention to detail
• Addition of clues and hints to the larger plot

Opening:
"If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle. This is because not very many happy things happened in the lives of the three Baudelaire youngsters. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire were intelligent children, and they were charming, and resourceful, and they had pleasant facial features, but they were extremely unlucky, and most everything that happened to them was rife with misfortune, misery, and despair. I am sorry to tell you this, but that is how the story goes."


Movie Trailer:

Thoughts: 
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a horrible book series about three orphans who suffer terribly at the hands of a heinous villain and who, though they are exceptionally bright and talented, are surrounded by people who are not, which leads to even more misfortune.

Actually, this is a great book series. The macabre humor is adored by both kids and adults. I absolutely recommend the book series over the Netflix series because much of the humor is dependent on the printed page. However, for fans of the books, I do recommend this well-produced-if-somewhat-unusual TV series. The shows have been re-scripted to include foreshadowing of many of the twists which affect the series arc. The show has an increased cohesiveness, but lacks the more subtle revelations I enjoyed as I read each book sequel. As of yet, there is no scheduled second season. This puts the series at another disadvantage...it only goes up top book four!

While the first episode is excruciatingly drawn out, it also adds delightfully ghoulish touches of it's own like a bizarre musical number. The kids are adorable if not perfectly cast, and a few characters throughout the series just aren't as caricatured as in the books, but those are nitpicks. I think audiences of all ages can enjoy the Netflix Original. Watch it and tell us your opinion.

Reminisce with intermission commercials
from Captain Bijou on You Tube.

Visit Our Snackbar!

Instead of the traditional Drive-In fare, I've included a recipe for Puttanesca sauce and 10 ways to prepare roast beef, just in case you are forced to watch this series with an estranged,distant, and demanding relative.

Nostalgic for a drive-in movie?
There are over 5,000 drive-in theaters across the U.S. mapped for you on Cinema Treasures.

Create your own snack trays with dollar store caddies
 thanks to Penny Pincher Jenny

Have you seen any screen adaptations about the Baudelaire's? What's your opinion?

Have you reviewed any Lemony Snicket books? Please leave your link in the comments below. Thanks!

View all the Summer Drive-In reviews for 2017.

Check out the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday review of  A Series of Unfortunate Events, coming September 11, 2017.

A Bookish Death

"It is likely I will die next to a pile of things I was meaning to read."
-Lemony Snicket*

Bookplate by Wilmer Richter
Via ExLibris Art Shop

*via The Daily Punctilio

Children's Book Week, 2014

Order this year's poster art by Robin Preiss Glasser

What will you do to celebrate? 

Visit a local bookstore event or at the Plaza with Eloise?
Promote literacy in your neighborhood? How about sharing a book with kids at your local children's hospital?
Host a book party using some of these fabulously bookish ideas on Pinterest?
Get writing with these story starters by Mo Willems, Barbara Park, Lemony Snicket, and others?

DOGOBooks is springing into summer reading with giveaways for young readers and their schools. Check it out!

75 Years of
Children's Book Week Posters,
by Leonard S. Marcus.

Peruse the 75 book week posters in Leonard Marcus's history of CBW.


How do you celebrate Children's Book Week? Add your link below.

PPBF, The Composer Is Dead

Today's pick

The Composer is Dead, by Lemony Snicket

The Composer Is Dead
Written by Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Carson Ellis
Music by Nathaniel Stookey

HarperCollins Publishers, 2009, Fiction, ages 5 and up

Themes:
Orchestra, Music, Mystery


Opening:
"The Composer is Dead.
'Composer' is a word which here means 'a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play.'  This is called composing.
 But last night, the Composer was not muttering.  He was not humming.  He was not moving, or even breathing.
This is called decomposing."

Synopsis:
This picture book and accompanying CD were created to introduce young readers to the orchestra, something like Prokofiev did in his time.  The story follows a detective who investigates the death of the Composer.  The listener is introduced to various instruments through text and music.

What I Love:
Daniel Handler (AKA Lemony Snicket) is both author and musician.  He brings his personal brand of bizarre to this somewhat educational picture book.  Snicket has a style all his own.  His ironic humor is not lost on his young audience, and is appreciated by adult fans as well.  The accompanying CD includes an instrumental track along with the narrated version, so it can be enjoyed in many ways.  This book is a humorous introduction to orchestral music, musical instruments, and various musical terms.  If you are a fan of The Mysterious Benedict Society series, then you will especially appreciate the familiar illustration style of Carson Ellis.

Bonus:
1. Take your children to experience live orchestral music.  Our local concert series always includes works geared toward young people.  Local colleges are also a great place to go.  Kids can hear the music in a more intimate setting and may have a chance to talk with the musicians.  If you live near a public radio station, as we do, you may have the opportunity to be in the audience for free.  Call your local NPR station and ask.

 Thanks to Mister Make It and Love It

2. Making your own instruments or holding an impromptu jam session are great ways for children to learn to appreciate the different sounds instruments can produce.  Here are a few clever ideas from The Crafty Crow.
3. I remember listening to Holst's The Planets in middle school.  We were supposed to close our eyes and write down each of the different instruments we could hear.  Listening in this way teaches a child to be more aware of the sounds around them.  They can begin to appreciate the complexity of musical composition.

Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday for March 8, 2013.
Thanks to Susanna Leonard Hill and to Julie Rowan-Zoch for prompting me to participate.

Have Book, Will Travel

"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them."

-Lemony Snicket

Brett Helquist
 from Lemony Snicket's
Series of Unfortunate Events
Gracias a Imaginaria

Seeking My Next Book

Glenn Robert Gray said he spent the time he wasn't reading, looking for something to read!  In case you are seeking the same, I thought I'd list my current reads in several categories.  At the bottom you'll find some links for other booklists.

The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins

In My Father's House,
by Corrie Ten Boom

A Series of Unfortunate Events #12
The Penultimate Peril,
by Lemony Snicket

Frankie Pickle
and The Closet of Doom
by Eric Wight

The Treausre of Savage Island,
by Lenore Hart

For more reading suggestions, try these links:
Reading Tween 
The New York Times Book Reviews
You Are What You Read
Kids' Next
Great Schools book lists