The kids attract bad luck like black shirts attract dandruff and I, for one, appreciate the militantly anti-Pollyanna stance. The kid in me loves the fact that nothing good ever happens to Snicket's trio of plucky orphans: Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, left parentless thanks to a house fire prior to the opening of Book One. The Carnivorous Carnival: Book 9 in a Series of Unfortunate EventsĮven after reading nine volumes of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, I'm still trying to figure out which part of me enjoys the books the most: the nine-year-old inner child who had an unnatural predilection for morbidity (for example, one of my favorite Sunday School lessons was the Crucifixion, particularly when they got to the part with the crown of thorns and the agony of the nails), or the 39-year-old outer child who still prefers the glum and gloomy (clouds dark with rain, Bergman films, picking my cuticles 'til they bleed - that sort of thing). The humor is as sharp as ever, the suspense will keep readers at the edge of their seats, and the cliff-hanger ending will make them eagerly await the next episode.-Heather Dieffenbach, Lexington Public Library, KY Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review | The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket New and deviously entertaining characters are added to the cast, including Kevin the ambidextrous man, Colette the contortionist, and Hugo the hunchback. They suffer the indignation of performing in their new roles, face off a bloodthirsty mob, and escape from a pit of hungry lions. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny disguise themselves as freaks so that they can stay at the carnival and hopefully get to the crystal ball before the Count does. Madame Lulu has used her crystal ball in the past to help him find the children after their narrow escapes, but this time he also wants her to discern the truth about whether or not either of their parents is still alive. Gr 4-7-This installment in the woeful tale of the unlucky Baudelaire orphans takes them (via the trunk of Count Olaf's car, unbeknownst to him) to the Caligari Carnival in the middle of the hinterlands. By Grade + Interest - K to 1st By Grade + Interest - 2nd to 3rd By Grade + Interest - 4th to 5th

The carnivorous carnival