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6 Reasons to Read A Series of Unfortunate Events Now That You’re Hooked on the Show
At long last, Lemony Snicket’s spooky and atmospheric A Series of Unfortunate Events has come to Netflix, and it is the perfect show to binge watch on a cold winter night. Thus far each of the eight episodes stays true to the original, darkly comic source material, and as an added bonus, Neil Patrick Harris is brilliantly evil as the despicable Count Olaf. The even better best part? If you haven’t read them yet, but the show has piqued your interest, you’ll discover that the books are every bit as excellent and addictive as the live action version. Here are six reasons to read the series if you’re loving the show as much as I am.
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The Darkness
There is no denying it; these books are really dark. This is a series that doesn’t treat kids like babies who need to be sheltered from an often harsh reality; but in a good way. The first book, The Bad Beginning, opens with the three Baudelaire children—Sunny, Violet, and Klaus—discovering that their parents have perished in a fire and they are now orphans. We, the reader, are warned by Lemony Snicket that it doesn’t get much more pleasant from chapter one all the way through all thirteen books, when we finally reach The End (which is pretty accurate). There is something refreshing about a children’s book that doesn’t try to sugarcoat things, and author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to pitch black humor and situations. It’s an approach that will resonate with readers of all ages.
The Humor
Despite the grim storyline, and the heaps of truly unfortunate events that are piled onto the heads of these innocent children, these books are also laugh out loud funny—and the seamless juxtaposition of tragedy with comedy is a great reminder that a good chuckle can help you get through most of life’s challenges. From absurd situations, to characters with ridiculous names (like Dr. Montgomery Montgomery from The Reptile Room), I dare you to read even one chapter without cracking a smile.
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The Strong Female Character
Fourteen year old Violet Baudelaire is one of my favorite female characters in children’s literature. The eldest Baudelaire sibling is a bright and immensely capable child whose overactive mind is constantly dreaming up new inventions. In a children’s book landscape with a few too many princesses, this extremely smart girl, who uses her wits (and grit) to help keep her family safe, is a refreshing change of pace.
Books Save the Day
In The Bad Beginning Violet is almost forced to suffer a fate that is arguably worse than death (or maybe just almost as bad), but slips out of it by studying up on the laws of marriage in their neighbor Justice Strauss’s legal library. How many stories have a library as the hero? Not nearly enough, is what I’m saying. And although kids may miss the references, parents and older readers will enjoy that many of Handler’s character names are winks to historical literary figures (Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Allan Poe, etc).
Complete Wreck: Books 1-13 (A Series of Unfortunate Events Boxed Set)
Lemony Snicket
4
Hardcover
$205.00
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Baby Power
It’s not often that a baby has the starring role in a book, but despite her size and age, youngest sibling Sunny Baudelaire manages to steal the show! Of course, Sunny is not your typical baby. To anyone outside of her family it sounds like she’s babbling nonsense, but to the Baudelaires, Sunny is an apt communicator, commenting on the scenes around her in a funny and insightful way, and she plays just as important a role in the siblings’ adventures as Violet and Klaus. (Sunny’s preternaturally strong teeth are also a valuable asset for the family when the chips are down, but that’s another story.)
Built-in Vocabulary Lessons
You know when you’re reading read a book and you skip over the words you don’t know, thinking you’ll look them up later, and then of course you never do? Well these books stop and define the words for you, sometimes even pausing the action to discuss the difference between cordial (a person who is friendly) and a cordial (a drink that is sweet). And who doesn’t love a book that teaches young readers what calamitous and in loco parentis mean?
Have you watched (or read) A Series of Unfortunate Events?