"Snicket's fans will love this book, but readers need never have read a single word by the author to appreciate the wonderfully presented universality of the bad mood and how quickly a little thing can chase it away—or beckon it upon us. (Picture book. 5-8)"
A bad mood dogs different people in turn, while the fate of a stick dropped from a tree seems to move the bad mood along.
Read full book review >
"Fans will be over the moon, a phrase that here means exceedingly pleased. (Mystery. 8-14)"
Can an apprentice in a certain secret organization keep his associates safe and save a dying town—or is that one of the wrong questions?
Read full book review >
"Fans can still look forward to Volume 3 of All the Wrong Questions, coming in October 2014: fabulous (which here means 'very good' rather than 'not real'). (Mystery/short stories. 8-14)"
How many mysteries lurk in the no-longer-seaside town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea? Thirteen.
Read full book review >
"For all its enigmatic nature, the tale provides a clear reason for drawing one's own conclusions: Observing and recording the results through a personal filter makes a good story. (Picture book. 5-8)"
Young investigators, a girl and boy old enough to ride the city bus alone, offer 29 observations associated with a building in another town.
Read full book review >
"Fans of the Series of Unfortunate Events will be in heaven picking out tidbit references to the tridecalogy, but readers who've yet to delve into that well of sadness will have no problem enjoying this weird and witty yarn. (Mystery. 8-12)"
"Conceived as an alternative to 'Peter and the Wolf' but more a send-up than an informational visit to the pit, the episode isn't likely to make much of a lasting impression on young audiences. (Picture book. 8-10, adult)"
In this characteristically unsettling invitation to Meet the Orchestra, the Composer leads off—dead or, as the author puts it, "decomposing" at his desk.
Read full book review >
"The volume's size, as well as the book in general, may strike many as diminutive, which here means small in stature, but make no mistake as to its usefulness, as many a Christmas stocking will accept such an endeavor in lieu of a real lump of coal. (Picture book. 8 & up)"
One might say that Snicket, author of the wildly successful A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Helquist, the illustrator of same, have diminished their talents with this short, illustrated Christmas story about a talking lump of coal.
Read full book review >
The third book in A Series of Unfortunate Events (The Bad Beginning, 1999, etc.) has all the stuff of its predecessors' melodrama—bold narration, dark humor, exaggerated emotions and dialogue, humorously stereotypical characters, and an overriding conflict between good and evil.
Read full book review >
"Those who enjoy a little poison in their porridge will find it wicked good fun. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 10-12)"
The Baudelaire children—Violet, 14, Klaus, 12, and baby Sunny—are exceedingly ill-fated; Snicket extracts both humor and horror from their situation, as he gleefully puts them through one terrible ordeal after another.
Read full book review >
Thank you! You’ll get the first email of recommendations from our critics within a week!
Bummer. There was a problem adding your email address. Please try again.
Subscribe to Pro Connect
Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.
