Booklist Reviews
Reviewed with Lemony Snicket's The Vile Village. Gr. 3-6. The Ersatz Elevator , "Book the Sixth," in A Series of Unfortunate Events, opens with the hapless Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, climbing up very dark stairs to the penthouse, the home of their new guardians, Mr and Mrs. Squalor. Genial Mr. Squalor seems genuinely delighted to have the children. Mrs. Squalor is a different matter: her life is ruled by "what's in" (aqueous martinis, pinstripe suits, and orphans) and "what's out" (alcoholic martinis, light, and elevators). Mr. Squalor's life is ruled by Mrs. Squalor. Children will enjoy the humorous barbs aimed at Mrs. Squalor and her ilk. The plot thickens with the reappearance of the nefarious Count Olaf, first in disguise to do his dastardly deeds and then unmasked to sneer at the Baudelaires. "Book the Seventh," The Vile Village , pokes wicked fun at the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" and at aphorisms in general: "The quoting of an aphorism, like the angry barking or a dog or the smell of overcooked broccoli, rarely indicates that something helpful is about to happen." Sure enough, the Baudelaires are soon adopted by an entire town whose inhabitants look upon the orphans as free labor. The Baudelaires struggle to solve the riddling messages that could lead them to rescue the Quagmire triplets, while trying to avoid being burned at the stake. Series fans will enjoy the quick pace, entertaining authorial asides, and over-the-top characterizations, and Brett Helquist's droll pencil drawings will add to their reading pleasure. ((Reviewed August 2001)) Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews
BookPage Reviews
Lemony Snicket countdown ticks on
The summer is dragging on, slowly but surely, and now only two more months remain until a brand new Lemony Snicket book arrives! What unfortunate events await the downtrodden Baudelaire orphans in Book the Eleventh, The Grim Grotto? Our patience is being sorely tested, but we're prepared to wait on the edge of our seats until September 21, when all will be revealed.
Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events is a super-sized phenomenon in the world of children's books, second only to Harry Potter among preteen readers. Writer Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, had the brilliant idea that children might savor a story in which terrible things happen and no happy ending awaits. He's been proven right in dramatic fashion, with 18 million copies of books one through 10 now in print.
For the many fans who have waited all year for the 11th installment in the series, we're offering a great way to pass the time: a countdown spotlighting the first 10 entries. This month, we move to books six and seven, The Ersatz Elevator and The Vile Village (ISBN 0064408655). In The Ersatz Elevator, the Baudelaire children find themselves staying with Mr. and Mrs. Squalor in a penthouse apartment at 667 Dark Avenue. Residents of the high-rise building have decided that elevators are "out," so the children must climb 84 floors of stairs to reach the top. And terrible things await in the empty elevator shaft! Things are no better at their next stop: a rundown village where residents must obey thousands of unusual town rules. How will our orphans cope? Stay tuned! Copyright 2004 BookPage Reviews.
Horn Book Guide Reviews
Now ensconced in a penthouse with status-seeking guardians, the Baudelaire orphans fret about their friends (the missing Quagmire triplets) and enemies (the always-lurking Count Olaf). This installment also features an intriguing hint that the series' dedicatee, the ill-fated Beatrice, plays a role in the orphans' fate, though the plot devices and narrative voice remain unvaried from the previous five volumes in the series. Copyright 2001 Horn Book Guide Reviews
School Library Journal Reviews
Gr 4-6-The resourceful, likable, but extremely unlucky orphans Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny continue to flee from the clutches of the fortune-hunting, disguise-wearing Count Olaf. Also, they need to discover the whereabouts of their kidnapped friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, based on the puzzling clue "V.F.D." In Elevator, the three Baudelaires go to live in the penthouse of the trend-following Jerome and Esmé Squalor, who adopt the children because orphans are "in." Despite the Baudelaires' resourcefulness, both Olaf and the Quagmires elude the grasp of the authorities due to the obtuseness of adults who, until it is too late, deny that terrible things can happen. In Village, the Baudelaires travel to V.F.D., a village that adopts the orphans based on the aphorism, "it takes a village to raise a child." They uncover the whereabouts of the Quagmires, but, as in the earlier books, they find neither respite nor peace from Count Olaf's machinations. Despite Snicket's artful turning of clichés on their well-worn heads, Elevator sometimes belabors the fallacy of fads at the expense of plot. Nonetheless, the satiric treatment of adults' insistence upon decorum at the expense of truth is simultaneously satisfying and unsettling, as are the deft slams at slant journalism in Village. Arch literary allusions enhance the stories for readers on different levels. Despite Snicket's perpetual caveats to "put this book down and pick up another one," the Baudelaires are dynamic characters who inspire loyalty to the inevitable end of the series.-Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews
A Series of Unfortunate Events chronicles the perilous adventures of the Baudelaire children, thirteen-year-old Violet, twelve-year-old Klaus, and toddler Sunny. They were orphaned when their wealthy parents died in a tragic accident. Their parents' bank places them with a series of totally unsuitable guardians, from whom they must always make their escape. The evil Count Olaf lusts after their inheritance and continually tries to capture them. In every book in the series, he appears in a disguise that no adult can penetrate, yet the children always know it is he. In The Ersatz Elevator, the incompetent Mr. Poe takes the orphans to their latest guardians, Jerome and Esme Squalor, who live in the penthouse of a very tall building with no working elevator. The Squalors slavishly follow what is in style, and Esme is the city's sixth most important financial advisor. The children find that Olaf has disguised himself as Gunther, Esme's auctioneer, and they learn that he has brought two of the Quagmire triplets, Duncan and Isadora-their third sibling died a few books back-and is holding them captive at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Before the Baudelaires can rescue their friends-also rich orphans-Olaf takes them away and runs off with Esme, his former student. In The Vile Village, Mr. Poe sends the Baudelaires to a village called V. F. D. The children know those initials have a dire significance for their friends, and they go willingly enough, only to find themselves in more trouble. The village council assigns them to work with the handyman, Hector, to do all the chores in the village. He is a kind man, but the village rules are impossible to follow. Then the Baudelaires discover mysterious messages from Isadora, and the village captures someone the new female police chief announces is Count Olaf-but who actually is an unfortunate fellow named Jacques. When Jacques is found dead the next morning, Detective Dupin arrives, but he is really Olaf. Naturally none of the adults except perhaps Hector believe the children, and they end up being murder suspects. Books in this series are reminiscent of Victorian melodrama. They are full of anachronisms, and the people and events are completely outlandish-readers must suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. Younger teens with a lively sense of the ridiculous will appreciate the preposterous plots and predicaments, and older teens might enjoy the wordplay as evidenced in some of the characters' names. For others, a small dose of Snicket will go a long way. Reading the books in order-beginning with The Bad Beginning (HarperTrophy, 1999), The Reptile Room (1999), The Wide Window (2000), The Miserable Mill (2000), and The Austere Academy (2000)-is preferred, but one will not feel lost by starting with any. Libraries already owning the series in their children's departments will not need an additional set, except perhaps for larger facilities. Middle schools with generous budgets also might want to acquire the books.-Kat Kan. 3Q 2P M J Copyright 2001 Voya Reviews