Reviewed by: Bat, Age 11 from Texas

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Picture this: you’re a member of a really rich family. You’re playing on the beach one day when a banker with a really bad cough turns up and tells you that your parents died in a fire that destroyed your whole mansion. You’re then put into the care of a really mean man who wants to inherit your fortune and makes you do all the chores. That’s exactly what happens to the Baudelaire childre*************** Sorry, my typewriter broke. As I was saying, that’s exactly what happened to the Baudelaire children. How do they cope? You’ll have to read this book (and the whole series) to find out. (One of the children loves inventing, another reads a lot, and another bites everything in sight.)

This book trailer for A Series of Unfortunate Events was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Book to Movie theme. For more on A Series of Unfortunate Events, check out our “Lights, Camera, Action” podcast.

If you like cheerful stories, then you’d be better off not watching this video. Instead, go play with a kitten, hug a teddy bear, or head off to a flower-filled park for a romp (a word which here means, “an enjoyable afternoon far, far away from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket”). I beg of you, do not watch this video.

(In addition, if you hear of the movie based on this series, please do your best to ignore it. This is for your own good.)

I don’t know about you, but I was heavily involved in Lemony Snicket‘s research into the mystery surrounding the Baudelaire orphans. And when I say “heavily involved,” I mean that I diligently studied everything I could related to their tragic circumstances — all 13 books in A Series of Unfortunate Events, plus The Unauthorized Autobiography of Lemony Snicket and The Beatrice Letters. Perhaps you suspect that’s a Very False Declaration? Just check out my bookshelf, o ye of little faith:

My unfortunate bookshelf

(Yes, I know Books 2, 3, and 13 are missing. They seem to have vanished! But what else would you expect from this series?)

After all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into [reading about] tracking down the truth about the Baudelaires, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I finished the final book and still had so many unanswered questions. So imagine my joy at learning that Lemony Snicket is writing a new series! Yes, that’s right, a brand new book series from the world’s most enigmatic author!
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Reviewed by: Sam S., age 12, from Washington, D.C.

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Imagine a worldwide mystery involving shady secret agents, a formerly united and now dangerously divided organization, multiple crimes of arson, and your family in the middle of it all. Imagine your parents are dead and it’s just you and your two siblings fighting to survive against unknown enemies. That’s the story behind this series of 13 books by Lemony Snicket, who is also wrapped up in the mystery. How? I won’t tell you and neither does he. You’ll just have to read A Series of Unfortunate Events to see how the adventure unfolds.