Lemony Snicket Read-Alikes and Supplements
 |
We can't imagine why you would want to read books that are
anything like The Series of Unfortunate Events.
In fact, we advise that you try one of the happy books on our pleasant
shelves. But if you insist on trying to find more worrisome
tales of grief and distress in which mysterious, tragic, and
sometimes briefly amusing things happen to otherwise normal young
children, we suggest that you look here: |
Try these books if you like Lemony Snicket books because they are a series of mysteries, a phrase used here to indicate that the story continues in the next book and
readers are always trying to figure out what will happen next:
NOTE: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library, Fort
Wayne, Indiana. Click on the title to see if the book is available
or checked out. Click on the series to find more books like the
first.
| AUTHOR |
TITLE |
DATE |
CALL # |
| Abbot, Tony |
The Hidden Stairs and the
Magic Carpet
(Secrets of Droon
Series)
It all starts when three friends, Julie, Eric
and Neal, find a secret room under the basement stairs and
discover that it's a magical doorway to the land of Droon.
However, even in Droon, things are not nearly as terrible as the
things that the poor Baudelaire orphans encounter. |
1999 |
J PAPERBK ABBOT |
| Buckey, Sarah |
The Smuggler's Treasure
(History Mysteries Series)
Creators of the American Girl series bring you
this series of mysteries based on historical events and time
periods. Fortunately, history has many cheerful events. |
1999 |
J BUCKE |
| Byars, Betsy |
The Dark Stairs: a
Herculeah Jones Mystery
(Herculeah Jones Mystery Series)
Herculeah Jones and her friend Meat are as
good as Holmes and Watson while they follow in the footsteps of
Herculeah's detective father and private-eye mom. They get
into some trouble, but so far, Herculeah's parents are still
alive and well. |
1994 |
J BYARS |
| DiTerlizzi, Tony |
The Field Guide
(Spiderwick Chronicles Series)
Following their parents' divorce, an older sister and two brothers move with their mother to a home
that holds
a lot of secrets. The children try to figure it all out without stressing their mom. |
2003 |
J DITER |
| Roy, Ron |
Absent Author
(A to Z Mystery Series)
Three friends, Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose, work together to solve mysteries. Like the
Series of Unfortunate Events, this series is getting close to the end. |
1997 |
J ROY |
| Skurzynski, Gloria |
Cliff Hanger
(National Parks Mystery Series)
Here's a quote from the book: "Moving one silent step at a time,
the cougar crept forward toward Lucky's defenseless back." Sounds unfortunate, right?
The Landon family, including foster kids, visit different parks in each book and they always manage to find
a series of unfortunate events. |
1999 |
J SKURZ |
| Warner, Gertrude |
The Boxcar Children
(Boxcar Children Mysteries)
Four adventurous orphans live on their own in a red boxcar, and one is named Violet. There
are many more than 13 books
in this series for young readers. Ask a librarian to help you find the cookbook! |
1952 |
J WARNE |
Try these books if you like Lemony Snicket books because orphans or kids existing without much help from adults are the protagonists, a word used by English teachers to refer to the main characters in a book or drama:
NOTE: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Click on the title to see if the book is
available or checked out.
| AUTHOR |
TITLE |
DATE |
CALL # |
| Ardagh, Philip |
A House Called Awful End
Eddie Dickens, the protagonist in this and
two more books
of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, is not an orphan, but his parents catch a disease which turns them yellow and crinkly
around the edges. So Eddie
goes to live at St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans. There
are many unfortunate events and many explanations of meanings
of words and phrases. |
2000 |
J ARDAG |
| Avi |
Crispin: the Cross of Lead
Like the Baudelaires,
13-year-old Crispin is falsely accused of theft and murder. But
in this Newbery award-winning tale of the bleak middle ages, the child finds an adult he can trust. |
2002 |
J AVI |
| Cushman, Karen |
Rodzina
Rodzina's parents die and she experiences one
unfortunate event after another, including a hard ride west on the orphan train. |
2003 |
J CUSHM |
| DiCamillo, Kate |
Because of Winn Dixie
Unfortunately, Opal Buloni has no mom, she
moves to a new hometown,
and her dog is ugly. But Opal has a dad and she finds much more
happiness with her eccentric friends than Violet, Klaus and Sunny find with theirs. |
2000 |
J DICAM |
| McKay, Hilary |
Saffy's Angel
Saffron has more in common with Violet than being
named after
a color. They're both strong and independent thinkers, but there's something else. Unfortunately, you'll have to read
the book
to find out. |
2002 |
J MCKAY |
| Nixon, Joan Lowery |
Lucy's Wish
(Orphan Train
Series)
Lucy is the orphan in this first book of the Orphan Train
Children Series. Most of the stories are sweet, a word which used here means that you will have to read the entire
series to find enough unfortunate events to make one Lemony Snicket story. But there's a glossary in each book and
pictures
of real orphans who don't look too happy. |
1998 |
J NIXON |
| Pullman, Philip |
Spring-Heeled Jack
This is a tale
of three orphans, lots of adventure and the pictures
are great. However, in the end, . . . whoops, I almost told you the end! That would have been unfortunate! |
2002 |
J PULLM |
| Rowling, J.K. |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry is an orphan, in case
you haven't
heard. He lives with the Dursley's, who are despicable and unloving relatives who make him sleep under the stairs. Quite
unfortunate!
Then he goes to Hogwarts where there are more unfortunate events, but also more friends and magic. |
1998 |
J ROWLI |
| Sachar, Louis |
Holes
Stanley Yelnats is not an orphan, but he is cursed.
Like the Baudelaires, he and his friends contrive many plans to overcome great difficulty caused by
the adults in the story. |
1998 |
J SACHR |
Try these books if you like Lemony Snicket books because they are LOL funny, An abbreviation used excessively by those who communicate electronically, used here to mean that you can't stop laughing out loud when you read them:
NOTE: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Click on the title to see if the book is
available or checked out.
| AUTHOR |
TITLE |
DATE |
CALL # |
| Cazet, Denys |
Minnie & Moo and the Seven Wonders of the World
If Aunt Josephine was a cow named Minnie and the Baudelaire
orphans were cows named Moo, and Mr. Poe was a farmer, they
would be having adventures like you will find in this book.
Second and third grade readers will laugh their heads off, a phrase which means they will chuckle often
while they read, not that their heads will roll on the floor. |
2003 |
J CAZET |
| Dahl, Roald |
Matilda
Matilda is brilliant and her parents are not.
In fact, her parents are cruel and creepy, much like Count Olaf and
friends. This book is filled with sardonic humor, meaning that it is written with sarcastic and mocking words that
produce hysterical convulsions.
|
1988 |
J DAHL |
| Laster, Eric |
The Adventures of Erasmus Twiddle, Grmkville's Famous & Talented Not-Detective
Erasmus has been
solving mysteries since he was a baby and he'll make you laugh because the mysteries
involve rubber chicken factories, baboons, explosions, and finger puppets. |
2001 |
J LASTE |
| Pilkey, Dav |
The Adventures of Captain Underpants, An Epic Novel
(Captain Underpants
Series)
This series is much sillier than Lemony Snicket's
books and it's full of superpowers (which the Baudelaires clearly do not have) and
gross-out stuff (which the Baudelaires are much too polite to express).
But kids often laugh out loud when they get close to the bookshelf and see the covers.
|
1997 |
J PILKE |
| Sachar, Louis |
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
(Wayside School
Series)
Wayside School is
no Austere Academy but the author knows how to make kids laugh. You'll find children being turned into apples (teachers
love apples), dead rats wearing raincoats and little girls who try to sell their toes.
|
1985 |
J SACHA |
| Willis, Jeanne |
Tadpole's Promise
When a caterpillar meets her perfect love, a tadpole,
she begs him never to change, but their relationship is doomed.
|
2005 |
JE WILLI |
Supplements, a word used here to point out books and other items to complete your reading experience, or to make it larger and better (Klaus Baudelaire would enjoy this list):
NOTE: All call numbers are for the Allen County Public Library,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Click on the title to see if the book is
available or checked out. If it is checked out, look where it should be on the shelf and
read another with the same call number.
| AUTHOR |
TITLE |
DATE |
CALL # |
| Wilson, Patrick |
Using Ropes and Knots
In The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the First)
Violet Baudelaire found herself in the unfortunate circumstance of trying to rescue her baby sister Sunny from
a perilous perch. Violet was able to invent a grappling hook and attach it to a rope with the proper
knot. It will be unfortunate if you do not read this book and you find
yourself trying to rescue your baby sister.
|
2003 |
J 356.16 WILSO |
| Lassieur, Allison |
Peru
In The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Second) Klaus Baudelaire read a similar book at his Uncle Montgomery Montgomery's request.
If in life's circumstances, you narrowly escape Count Olaf's wicked grasp
and then travel to Peru to meet an uncle you've never before seen, you too will be glad that you
read this book. In fact, you should spend your free time reading a book about every country in
South America, just in case!
|
2004 |
J 918.5 LASSI |
| Katzen, Mollie |
Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes
In The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Third)
the Baudelaire orphans were sent to live with their cousin's sister-in-law, Aunt Josephine. She was
afraid of everything, including the stove. The children were forced to eat cold cucumber soup and more
cold cucumber soup. Don't let this happen to you! Read this book and memorize the recipes that do not
contain a picture of a stove. You will have many recipes to recommend as alternatives to cold cucumber
soup when you are sent to live with a paranoid grammarian.
|
1994 |
J 641.5 KATZE |
| Cobb, Vicki |
Open Your
Eyes, Discover Your Sense of Sight
In The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fourth) Klaus Baudelaire experienced an unfortunate event after visiting the Paltryville eye doctor.
Read this book so that you will understand what happens at a proper eye exam and your eye
doctor will not be able to hypnotize you.
|
2002 |
J 612.84 COBB |
| Macaulay, David |
The New Way Things Work
In The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fifth)
Sunny Baudelaire, an infant who would rather be biting things than stapling things, worked as a secretary at the Prufrock
Preparatory School. When she was forced to make her own staples to do her job,
she needed help. Read this book quickly and memorize the pictures so that you will be able to help
babies do good jobs when they are forced to work as secretaries. Staplers are on page 78.
|
1998 |
J 600 MACAU |
| Franck, Irene M. |
Dress Through the Ages
In The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Sixth) the poor Baudelaire children were sent to live with their new guardians, Jerome and Esme Gigi Geniveve
Squalor. Esme was not only the city's sixth most important financial advisor, but an expert on what
was in and what was out. The children were not experts and were always guessing.
If you read these 16 volumes, you will know what is in and what is out for everyone
from Astronauts and Ballerinas to traditional Guatemalans.
|
2001 |
J 391 FRANC |
| Rutten, Joshua |
Erosion
In The Vile Village (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Seventh)
Violet Baudelaire was able to use the scientific concept of erosion to free herself and her
siblings from a nasty accommodation. You must check out this book and read it completely.
Be prepared! If you are a child being raised by a village, you may have to break out of prison.
|
1999 |
J 551.302 RUTTE |
| Raatma, Lucia |
Crawl Low Under Smoke
In The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Eighth)
the Baudelaire children were trapped inside the burning Heimlich Hospital. Every child has
an obligation to read books like this about fire safety. It explains how to leave a building
safely during a fire, although it doesn't explain how to invent a bungee cord from materials
one might find in a burning hospital.
|
1999 |
J 628.9 RAATM |
| Dispezio, Michael A. |
Map Mania: Discovering Where You Are and Getting to Where You Aren't
In The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Ninth)
Beverly, Elliot and Chabo, the Wolf Baby, investigated Madame Lulu's fortune telling tent and
found a map. Read this book, please, so that, please, you will know how to read maps, please.
|
2002 |
J 912 DISPE |
| White, Linda |
Sleeping In A Sack: Camping Activities
for Kids
In The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Tenth)
Sunny was separated from her sister and brother and forced to cook outdoor breakfasts for Count Olaf
and his henchmen. Violet and Klaus were climbing treacherous snow-covered Mortmain Mountains
finding nobody but Snow Scouts. They needed this book. You have it right here on your library
shelf. The correct thing to do is obvious, a word which here means clearly, you should read the book.
|
1998 |
J 796.54 WHITE |
| Seuling, Barbara |
Drip! Drop!: How Water Gets to Your Tap
In The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Eleventh)
the Baudelaire Orphans find themselves traveling in a rattletrap submarine to
the Gorgonian Grotto. If you first read this book about precipitation, evaporation and condensation, you
can skip the long, boring sections Lemony Snicket writes about the water cycle. Remember: He who hesitates
is lost!
|
2000 |
J 628.1 SEULI |
| Herrera, Joaquin Ramon |
Scary: A Book of Horrible Things for Kids
Read this book so that you are prepared for all of the horrible things that
you could run into -- like cockroaches, Argiope banana spiders, cannibal lobsters and gangrene.
|
2005 |
J031.02 HERRE |
| Haugen, Hayley Mitchell |
Daniel Handler: The Real Lemony Snicket
It has come to our attention that the author, Lemony Snicket, and his representative, Daniel Handler, are thought by
some people to be the same person. That theory has caused books like this to be written, published and sold to libraries. Please read
and decide for yourself.
|
2005 |
JB HANDL |
WEB SITES
If you need help finding these or other Library materials, please
check with anyone in Children's Services. We look forward to seeing
you at the Library!
If you are reading this and you are Lemony Snicket: With all due respect, we would like to request
that you send us your grandmother's recipe for lemon cookies so that we may offer some to Klaus
Baudelaire or other children who were deprived of the pleasure of enjoying one during tea at
V.F.D. headquarters. If you are Count Olaf or his employees, please do not contact us.
This list was created and is maintained by Becky White.
Comments and suggestions can be sent to Becky White at bwhite@acpl.info,
or to Mary R. Voors, Manager, Children's Services at mvoors@acpl.info.
|
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