A Conversation for 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' - by Lemony Snicket

A wonderful vocabulary-expander for young children

Post 1

HarpoNotMarx (((2*1)^6)-6-(2*8)=42

The number of interesting new words introduced by the books into the brains of my children is gargantuan, [for aficionados, "a word with here means very large indeed"]
Haven't managed to find Book the ninth - the Carnivorous Carnival yet, but live in hope that the Beaudelaires manage to esacape Count Olaf's boot [trunk] in which they escaped the Hostile Hospital.
I won't hope too hard though, as the misfortunes of the siblings do make for fascinating reading, despite the US setting and spellings. They are also a great antidote to Harry Potter, where good triumphs too convincingly over evil. We all think that Olaf in his various disguises is worse than Voldemort!


A wonderful vocabulary-expander for young children

Post 2

quiltgoddess

One of the things my (14 year old) daughter and I love about these books is the way Snicket defines various terms, in a semi-facetious manner. For instance, in the latest book (_The Slippery Slope_), he defines "with a spring in her step" as "a phrase which here means 'in a surprisingly cheerful manner considering she was in the clutches of a ruthless villain on top of a mountain so cold that even the nearby waterfall was frozen solid.'" How can you not love a definition like that?


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A wonderful vocabulary-expander for young children

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