A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival

Bibliography:Snicket, Lemony. (2002) A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Genre:YA

Reading Level/Interest Age:12-16yrs

Reader's Annotation:As employees of the Caligari Carnival, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny get closer to clues about their parents death and the elusive Snicket file.

Author:Lemony Snickett

Plot Summary:After narrowly escaping the burning Heimlich Hospital by hiding in Count Olaf's car trunk, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire find themselves at the Caligari Carnival. Count Olaf and his henchmen are visiting Madame Lulu—a fortune teller. Count Olaf and the Bauldelaires all need the same information, which Madame Lulu claims to have: Did one of the Baudelaire parents survive the fire? Where is the Snicket file? To disguise themselves, the Baudelaires dress up and join the Freak Show at the Carnival. As Beverly and Elliott (a two-headed freak) and Chabo the Wolf Baby (part human, part wolf), Violet, Klaus and Sunny befriend the other members of Madame Lulu's Freak Show. When Madame Lulu discovers them searching for clues inside her fortune-telling caravan, she unveils her own secret identity. Furthermore, she has knowledge of the V.F.D., and Madame Lulu says she will help the Baudelaires escape from the carnival and find the V.F.D. headquarters. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny cannot dare to hope, especially with Count Olaf and Esme Squalor nearby.

Critical Evaluation:As the adventures of the Baudelaires continue, their situation becomes more and more perilous. The ninth volume in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Carnivorous Carnival brings Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire face to face with a pack of hungry lions—and they're not even the worst part. This installment provides another impossibly dangerous situation from which the siblings must escape. The end of the novel provides a sudden twist: Sunny is separated from the others and is caught in the clutches of Count Olaf. Lemony Snicket again weaves a precarious plot into the larger story of the entire Series. Readers who have enjoyed the earlier stories will continue to read this installment. The Baudelaire's adventure is addicting. Snicket's suspenseful endings leave us wondering whether Violet, Klaus, and Sunny will ever beat Count Olaf and find the answers to their questions.

Curriculum Ties:Student choice book report

Book Talk Ideas:Read an early chapter in the novel, make connections to earlier books in the series.

Challenge Issues:violence, sarcasm

Why was this text included in this project?This novel was included because of the great popularity of the series and the movies. If readers began reading A Series of Unfortunate Events when they were first published, then they are likely to continue reading the series, even if they are a little too old for it.