Kids into Books: The Bad Beginning

Author: Lemony Snicket

Illustrator: Brett Helquist

Publisher: Harper Collins, $17.95

Age group: 8-12 years


Their misfortune began one day at Briny Beach.

The three Baudelaire children lived with their parents in an enormous mansion at the heart of a dirty and busy city, and occasionally their parents gave them permission to take a rickety trolley - the word "rickety" you probably know, here means "unsteady" or "likely to collapse" - alone to the seashore, where they would spend the day as a sort of vacation as long as they were home for dinner.

This particular morning it was gray and cloudy, which didn't bother the Baudelaire youngsters one bit.

When it was hot and sunny, Briny Beach was crowded with tourists and it was impossible to find a good place to lay one's blanket.

On gray and cloudy days, the Baudelaires had the beach to themselves to do what they liked.