The Bad Beginning - by Lemony Snicket

Sharp teeth, eye tattoos, shiny hooks, troubled orphans, and no roast beef. All of these strange elements will be important in this dreadful story.

This book tells the tale of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, three orphans who must find a way to escape the clutches of evil Count Olaf. This one-eyebrowed actor will stop at nothing to get his filthy, greedy hands on the Baudelaire fortune.

This is a somewhat challenging book, full of big words and tricky concepts. The reader must be ready to think a lot, and should have a box of tissues handy for all of the sad and unfortunate events that the children experience. This book is just right for readers who like sad stories, difficult words, weird phrases, and children who use their natural abilities (and schema) to solve their own problems.

Thank you to my wonderful fourth graders for their help with this recommendation!