The Bad Beginning

by Lemony Snicket

Book Overview

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0064407667
• ISBN13: 9780064407663
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Received the wrong copy

I was excited to buy this book for my daughter. I paid $4.99 for a hardcover in “very good condition.” However, upon receiving it I realized that I was sent the “short lived edition.” It’s not even the full book which was not disclosed in the description and to top it off it says that brand new the book cost $3.99. So I paid more for a used book that wasn’t even the version I wanted.

Great Customer Service

I truly recommend

Very disappointed

I ordered 4 hardcovers from A Series of Unfortunate Events to finally complete my collection. When they were delivered, they all were paperbacks. So essentially, I didn’t get what I ordered.

Great

My 5 year old and I both so enjoyed the story we can’t wait to read the next!

Fun for all ages

These books are written for children. However, I decided to read the book before passing it along to my kids. It's a very pleasant read if you're looking for something light. I intend to read the rest of the series before I pass them along!

Rereading a childhood classic

This book brought back so much nostalgia it is unreal! While it is a small book, its a fast and easy read. The character development is slow, but there is also 13 books in the series. I honestly recommend anyone read this series. The author, Lemony Snicket, writes in such a way that he often breaks the 4th wall and it makes it such an interesting read. Give it a try, why not??

Highly recommend

Lemony Snicket is a children’s book genius! I absolutely love the bad beginning and the series of unfortunate evens! It’s an easy read (obviously lol) but I just love how you go on this terrible adventure with the children and all of its ups and downs

Easy but fun read!

I used to own a lot of these books when I was younger, due to circumstance they either were ruined and thrown away or sold in garage sales. It's been quite some time since a read a Series of Unfortunate events book but I'm glad i bought this again! I forgot how much fun they are to read. Easy enough for anyone over the age of 8 or 9 to read!

As Good As I Remember!

I read this book a few years ago in year 4 and I absolutely loved it. Now that I'm older and have read it again, I can definitely say that it is just as amazing as it was in year 4. The Series Of Unfortunate Events is a series that I would totally recommend!

Riley Kilmartin Schmidt

Imaginar tú y tus hermanos jugando en el playa cuando su banquero ven a decir que tus padres han múrido en un fuego que destruido su casa. Este novel por Lemony Snicket es sobre tres huérfanos, Violet, Klaus, y Sunny Baudilare. Ellos necesitan ir a vivir con su "tío" Cont. Olaf. Pronto vas a descubrir que Cont. Olaf solamente quiere la fortuna Baudilare. Los niños son forcado a cocinar y limpiar por Olaf y su grupo de actores, que son personas terribles. Cuando los niños piensan que su vida no puede ser más mala, Olaf y sus amigos hacen un plan para robar la fortuna. ¿Los Baudilares escapan con sus vidas o no? Lemony Snicket hice un trabajo fantástico escribiendo este libro. Es la tipo de libro que no quiero parar leyendo. Cuando pienso que sabe que va a pasar, una cosa sorprendente paso. El mal principio es el libro perfecto para personas que quieran un libro que se dejan pensando.

The Bad Beginning

This series is more a triumph of marketing and presentation than an actual literary achievement. From Lemony Snicket's dire warnings on the back cover to the stylized illustrations and old fashioned fonts, the idea is to present a work of Gothic children's fiction that falls somewhere between Roald Dahl and Edgar Allen Poe. The actual story is a little less satisfying, often because it isn't really as dark and twisted and it suggests itself to be. True, the three children are orphaned in the first chapter, and yes, their third cousin the evil Count Olaf hatches various evil schemes to steal their fortune and probably kill them, but it's all a little watered-down. I'm a little too old for the books anyway, but I can remember the kind of stories I enjoyed when I was a kid. Maybe some children genuinely enjoy stories where everything works out in the end and all the characters are nice and happy and love each other, but good stories, whether they're for kids or grown-ups, always have conflict, and the best adventures always place their heroes in serious jeopardy. Even fairy tales. I actually prefer reading about A Series of Unfortunate Events over reading the actual books. Even so, they are funny, frequently inventive, and just a little bit dark and morbid, which is enjoyable. It's also nice to see a modern children's series that doesn't try to be the next Harry Potter -- meaning a story with many characters and details and lengthy volumes and an epic scope. These novels are short, easily read, and don't try too hard, which is sometimes exactly the way a novel should be. The paperback editions add even more to the "presentation": an old-fashioned black and white comic about a pair of child detectives, a collection of vintage advertisements, an advice column penned by Mr. Snicket, and a hilarious serialized "nonsense novel" written circa 1910.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

After already having seen the movie, I decided to invest in reading the books. Bk #1, THE BAD BEGINNING, only took me an hour to finish, and it was an enjoyable--if dark--read. The Baudelaire children--Violet, Klaus, and Sunny--are left orphaned after a mysterious fire destroys their home and kills their parents. Taken into custody by Mr. Poe, the executor of their parent's estate, they learn that their parent's will states that they must be cared for by a relative. The closest relative, unbeknownest to the children, is Count Olaf, an actor and leader of a theatre troupe who lives in a dilapitated house on the other side of town. Things, of course, only go from bad to worse after the children move into Count Olaf's home, which is strangely covered inside and out with drawings and representations of a strange-looking eye. Count Olaf even has a tattoo of the same image on his ankle. As the Count hatches a scheme to gain control of the Baudelaire fortune, which the children are not privy to until Violet comes of age, the children are alternately scared of their new "parent" and determined to find a way out of their dreadful situation. I enjoyed this walk on the dark side, and plan on reading Book #2 in the series later today. That said, however, I think it depends on your child and his or her maturity as to whether this would be a good read for them or not. Although the reading material is suitable for around 8 years old and up, the book IS dark-natured, and might scare some children. If they've already seen the movie, they might be prepared for its darkness--if the movie depiction scared them, then hold off on the book for awhile. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

4th Grade Review

Our 4th grade class believes that Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning is a good book. We never wanted to stop reading, we always wanted to know what was going to happen next. The more we read the more interested we became in the story line. As we read we could see the images described in the book in our heads, like our own little movie! One of our favorite parts about the book was that it warned us not to read the book if we wanted a happy ending. This inticed us to read even more. This suspense was kept throughout the novel. Overall we think this book was a great challenging book for 4th graders . . . and by the way, what ever happend to Count Olaf?

Just as good as Harry Potter!!!

I heard that this book was going to be good... but not this good. It was almost as good of a read as Harry Potter. I can't wait for the third book to come out. Another reason I liked the bad beggining is because it is a short read.