The Carnivorous Carnival: Book the Ninth (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

From Publishers Weekly
In the ninth title in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Carnivorous Carnival, the Baudelaire siblings are falsely accused of murder. On the run from Count Olaf (the real killer), the three disguise themselves in Madame Lulu's House of Freaks; Violet and Klaus masquerade as the two-headed Beverly/Elliot; Sunny poses as Chabo the Wolf Baby. Ages 10-up.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-This installment in the woeful tale of the unlucky Baudelaire orphans takes them (via the trunk of Count Olaf's car, unbeknownst to him) to the Caligari Carnival in the middle of the hinterlands. Madame Lulu has used her crystal ball in the past to help him find the children after their narrow escapes, but this time he also wants her to discern the truth about whether or not either of their parents is still alive. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny disguise themselves as freaks so that they can stay at the carnival and hopefully get to the crystal ball before the Count does. They suffer the indignation of performing in their new roles, face off a bloodthirsty mob, and escape from a pit of hungry lions. New and deviously entertaining characters are added to the cast, including Kevin the ambidextrous man, Colette the contortionist, and Hugo the hunchback. The humor is as sharp as ever, the suspense will keep readers at the edge of their seats, and the cliff-hanger ending will make them eagerly await the next episode.Heather Dieffenbach, Lexington Public Library, KYCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
In this ninth adventure of the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny become "freaks" in a carnival in their continuing efforts to avoid the villainous Count Olaf. Full of the usual "definitions," interesting but often irreverent explanations of common and uncommon activities, Snicket's oeuvre offers drama, connections to previous books, and literary allusions to tempt the older reader. All of this is delivered in Tim Curry's consistently excellent voice. He breathes evil into Count Olaf and his cohorts and becomes the foreign Madame Lulu. After creating distinct individualized voices for each character, he creates a new and different voice for many of those same characters as disguises go on and come off. Curry is a master of dry, ironic tones that add an additional undercurrent of suspense, keeping the listener off-balance throughout. W.L.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Gr. 4-8. In the ninth volume in the popular Series of Unfortunate Events, the Baudelaire orphans, who have arrived at the Caligari Carnival, disguise themselves in order to investigate a mysterious fortune-teller. Violet and Klaus masquerade as a two-headed carnival freak, and baby Sonny masquerades as Chabo the Wolf Baby, and they share in the humiliation of the other "freaks" (an ambidextrous man, a female contortionist, and a man with a hunchback). When one of the performers is to be thrown to hungry lions, the children find themselves faced with a terrible dilemma. Children faithful to the series won't be surprised when the book does NOT end happily; nor will they find it unusual that Snicket continues to entertain with witty asides and a satirical point of view. The overall story moves along nicely toward the conclusion of the planned 13-volume series; at the same time, the author successfully uses this book as a platform to communicate a good deal about individuals who belittle others and what it feels like to be on the end of the horrible barbs. Susan Dove Lempke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
For fans of that slippery author Lemony Snicket, Book the Ninth is here, and it's completely (but wonderfully) dreadful.

When the Baudelaire Orphans finally make it out of Count Olaf's car trunk (from Book the Eighth), they wind up at the horribly perilous Caligari Carnival. Trying to avoid capture but desperate to find out more information about a possible surviving parent, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny pose as circus freaks, only to be humiliated in front of visitors and pushed to the brink of consumption by lions. Fortunately, though, the three discover a few surprises about fortune-telling Madame Lulu, who offers a faint clue about V.F.D. and even the Snicket family itself.

Snicket fans will be in Ninth Heaven. Again, it's a sad state of affairs for the Baudelaires, but there are some fascinating morsels of hope, plus a few small surprises that might help link it all together. With riveting suspense, wicked intentions, and gullible freaks, The Carnivorous Carnival is definitely an installment that can't be missed. Matt Warner

ANNOTATION

On the run as suspected murderers, the unlucky Baudelaire orphans find themselves trapped in the Caligari Carnival, where they must masquerade as freaks in order to hide from the evil Count Olaf.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Everybody loves a carnival! Who can fail to delight in the colorful people, the unworldly spectacle, the fabulous freaks? A carnival is a place for good family fun, as long as one has a family, that is. For the Baudelaire orphans, their time at a carnival turns out to be yet another episode in a now unbearable series of unfortunate events. In fact, in this appalling ninth installment in Lemony Snicket's serial, the siblings must confront a terrible lie, an ambidextrous person, a caravan, and Chabo the wolf baby.

About the Author

Lemony Snicket was born before you were, and is likely to die before you as well. His family has roots in a part of the country which is now underwater, and his childhood was spent in the relative splendor of the Snicket Villa which has since become a factory, a fortress and a pharmacy and is now, alas, someone else's villa.

To the untrained eye, Mr. Snicket's hometown would not appear to be filled with secrets. Untrained eyes have been wrong before. The aftermath of the scandal was swift, brutal and inaccurately reported in the periodicals of the day. It is true, however, that Mr. Snicket was stripped of several awards by the reigning authorities, including Honorable Mention, the Grey Ribbon and First Runner Up. The High Council reached a convenient if questionable verdict and Mr. Snicket found himself in exile.

Though his formal training was chiefly in rhetorical analysis, he has spent the last several eras researching the travails of the Baudelaire orphans. This project, being published serially by HarperCollins, takes him to the scenes of numerous crimes, often during the off-season. Eternally pursued and insatiablyinquisitive, a hermit and a nomad, Mr. Snicket wishes you nothing but the best.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In the ninth title in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Carnivorous Carnival, the Baudelaire siblings are falsely accused of murder. On the run from Count Olaf (the real killer), the three disguise themselves in Madame Lulu's House of Freaks; Violet and Klaus masquerade as the two-headed Beverly/Elliot; Sunny poses as Chabo the Wolf Baby. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal