The Trouble Begins: A Box of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-3 (The Bad Beginning; The Reptile Room; The Wide Window)

I grew up loving these books, and now my daughter’s devouring them just like I did!

I read these tales with my daughter at night before she goes to bed. It has been as much a revelation to me as it has been for her this series of most unfortunate events, as they differ enough from the movie to give her pause while I enjoy the copious word play of Lemony Snicket.The three books are each divided into 13 chapters as one would imagine. Not so lengthy that you can't read two aloud in one night. It begins as one expects with the Baudelaires being thrown into the evil clutches of Count Olaf, who immediately starts his sinister plan to work with the help of his filthy assistants. The orphans gain some comfort from their next door neighbor, Judge Strauss, but as they soon learn adults aren't much help and they are forced to pry themselves free from the clutches of Olaf themselves.Books 2 and 3 take Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine in turn. Hard to picture them as anyone other than Billy Connolly and Meryl Streep now. The two adventures once again find the orphans matching wits with Count Olaf as he takes on fiendish disguises which all too easily fool the adults, who once again prove no help at all to the orphans. Whereas in Book the Second we get a fantastical story of reptiles, mostly charming snakes, in Book the Third we get quite a little study in grammar that ultimately leads to poor Aunt Josphine's demise.Mr. Poe is perhaps the most troublesome character in these tales as one would expect after being fooled each time he might wisen up a little, but sadly not, and the kids find themselves moving from one ill-fated adventure to another, all in good humor of course as not to give young readers too much fright.

What grabs you first is the prose style. The elaborate introductory letters on the backs of the books, for instance, signed with the somewhat ambiguous closing, "With all due respect --- Lemony Snicket." The drily witty text of the stories reads rather like Miss Manners has been up all night and drinking entirely too much coffee.The authorial voice intrudes, commenting on events, and providing definitions of words. These are sometimes congruous to those usually found in dictionaries. They are occasionally not --- in which that incongruity is usually both a plot element, and the subject of further comment by the authorial voice. The introduction to the concept of "dramatic irony" in the second book of the package is memorably amusing as well as educational.I suspect that, as children's books, these will be appreciated mostly by highly verbal and sensitive children, those who have the ability to see behind the text and grasp exactly how their leg is being pulled. For these children, these books will not only be amusing, but valuable: they are written in a literate style, ironically formal, and the author's intrusions introduce a fair number of interesting words. Appropriate adults will find entertainment here too: the literary allusions, the Baudelaires and Poes, add depth to the stories, and clues to the clued-in as to what is really happening here.Children --- or adults --- who can't or won't follow the ironic premise of the series are less likely to enjoy these.

My kids enjoy this series. I ended up buying the audible versions as well, to read along with. They seemed to really like being able to listen and read along. They just started book 3 and I plan to buy additional books in this popular series. They are in 5th grade and have watch the current series of this show that is now too. Give them a try and encourage your kids to read!

Clever, enjoyable. After one whole book of unfortunate events, however, I don't think I am ready for the others in the series. There is only so much gloom, doom, and misfortune I can read without it all running together into a morass that starts to sound the same. I confess to skimming the 2nd and 3rd books. ( I got the 1st 3 of the series of 13 in this boxed set). 10 more books of improbable, annoying bad things happening to the orphans, a lot of which they could prevent? So many opportunities to do away with the Count, and they let every chance go by? These kids got on my last nerve.

The books came in excellent condition. I can't wait to read them with my kids and share this experience with them.

Very impressed. I loved these books when I was younger and now I will read them with my child.

Fast shipping. Daughter loved adding to her collection