The author is quite consistent in his style of writing. Many young readers might enjoy the way he provides definitions to perhaps unrecognizable words. For example, when speaking of their dinner, he says they ate, �a dull dinner of boiled chicken, boiled potatoes, and blanched--the word �blanched� here means �boiled�--string beans...� While some readers may find this tedious, parents and teachers might appreciate the fact that readers are being introduced to advanced vocabulary without the need to stop and open up a dictionary.
The character are believable, although comically exaggerated, in the sense that the author makes them consistent. Count Olaf for example, is mean at all times and we sense his evil plots even when he may be pretending to be nice. Justice Strauss is nice and caring at all times and the readers are not confused with her suddenly turning evil on them.
Some readers might consider the story turning dark when the baby is kidnapped and Count Olaf plans to marry Violet in order to steal their fortune. If readers keep in mind the story is not real, they might find it humorous that Count Olaf is so ugly and stinky. They might come to realize that a pile of rocks is quite a boring thing to play with and that itchy, ugly clothing is a silly, but understandable thing to worry about. The theme of the story is without a doubt perseverance and the search for a better future. Although it seems impossible, the children do not give up on their dream of finding happiness. Publishers Weekly states, �Luckily for fans, the woes of the Baudelaires are far from over; readers eager for more misfortune can turn to The Reptile Room for an even more suspenseful tale.� The series already consists of over ten books, none of them ceasing to lose popularity among readers of all ages.
Snicket, Lemony (Handler, David). 1999. A series of unfortunate events: The bad beginning. New York: Harpercollins Children�s Books. ISBN: 0-439-20647-2.
