Lemony Snicket . . .
Odds are, the name is familiar but not the face.
Even if you’re among the millions of kids who’ve read the wildly popular “Series of Unfortunate Events” books, you probably know little about their elusive author. Snicket chronicles the peril-filled lives of the three Baudelaire orphans, who are constantly on the run from the sinister Count Olaf, a distant relative who would kill to get his hands on the family fortune. The series has 13–what else?–books that began in 1999 with “The Bad Beginning.” Book 9, “Carnivorous Carnival,” is due out this fall.
Almost everything about Snicket–his obsession with Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, his shady past and his long-lost love Beatrice–is shrouded in mystery. In fact, it seems the only thing that Snicket willingly shares with readers is a warning: Avoid his books at all costs, especially if you like happy endings.
So it’s surprising that Snicket tells his life story, although reluctantly, in “Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography” (HarperCollins, $12), out today. KidNews had to see what gives, so we tracked down author Daniel Handler, who acts as Snicket’s representative and is so close to Snicket that it’s impossible to tell the two apart. Here’s what Handler had to say:
Q. The “Unfortunate Events” series only hints at the mysterious circumstances surrounding Lemony Snicket’s life. How much is revealed in the autobiography? Will we learn why Snicket was banned from a certain town?
A. On the contrary. “The Unauthorized Autobiography” will confuse, frustrate and depress readers. Neither Mr. Snicket nor I can recommend it for research purposes or for enjoyment.
Q. Will we learn more about Mr. Snicket’s connection with the Baudelaire orphans and why he is researching their lives?
A. Well, anything is possible. The easiest way to find about his connection to the orphans and Count Olaf is to investigate it oneself. Of course, that’d put both you and the orphans in grave danger, but still that’s the easiest way. The most difficult thing to do would be to somehow get through all 13 chapters of the autobiography, and you may find evidence buried in this confusing and distressing book.
Q. Will the autobiography reveal who Beatrice is?
A. The essential question is not “Who is Beatrice?” but what are the circumstances surrounding her death. The question is perhaps inadvertently answered but made more complicated by the autobiography.
Q. Fans of the “Unfortunate Events” series know not to expect a happy ending. But what about the last book in the series, Book 13? Would it be possible that the Baudelaire orphans will, if not live happily ever after, find happier circumstances?
A. Words like happier and happy are really comparative words. Any ending comparatively could have been more happy or, in the reverse, less happy. Although Mr. Snicket is not yet finished with his research into the Baudelaire case, we can presume it will not be the happiest ending one could imagine, but neither will it be the least happy.
Q. Do you think readers would be disappointed in a happy ending?
A. No, I think most readers would more sensibly prefer an end in which everyone is happily gathered at a picnic eating potato salad and chocolate ice-cream sandwiches. Only a select group of utterly depressed individuals seem to prefer Mr. Snicket’s books and like unhappy endings.
Q. Throughout all their trials, Violet, Klaus and Sunny remain good, resourceful kids. Why is it that they never seem to lose their hope or good manners?
A. Well, I think that being decent is something that comes from within, not from one’s surroundings. For example, just because one is trapped in a bird cage and hung from a tower room is no excuse to be rude.
Q. In the “Unfortunate Events” books, adults often are flawed people who don’t understand children very well. Why is this?
A. I think it varies from individual to individual. Luckily, Count Olaf doesn’t get children at all; if he did get them, the orphans would long ago be dead. In the count’s case, he’s motivated by greed; he wants the children’s fortune. In the case of Mr. Poe, the banker, it’s the usual flawed characteristics of people of a certain age.
Q. Some adults would argue that children shouldn’t be wasting their time reading books about scary things. What do you say to that and what have you heard from readers?
A. I’ve been lucky enough to hear from many readers who seem to take comfort from books that admit the world is a troubled place. To adults who sense they don’t want to read such a book, I suggest they read something else. Mr. Snicket describes a universe in which terrible things can happen and do often happen. That, to me, is a world I find familiar. The lesson, if there is any, is to behave well in any case, not because you’ll be rewarded but because it’s the right thing to do.
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Barring any unforeseen unfortunate circumstances, Lemony Snicket will appear at 4 p.m. Thursday at Anderson’s Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville. Call 630-355-2665 for information.
Your days are numbered . . .
. . . if you want to enter KidNews’ story-writing contest.
We’ve extended the deadline. You have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, to get us your entry. Then we’re calling it quits and picking a winner!
Award-winning author Christopher Paul Curtis has written the first line to a fiction story. To enter, dream up a 600-word-or-less story of your own using Curtis’ opening sentence:
Daryl’s hands shook as she picked up the envelope that Aisha slid across her desk–had her worst nightmare come true?
Send your story, along with your name, age, hometown and phone number with area code, to: KidNews Writing Contest, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. You must be 8-15 to enter.
For full contest details, go to chicagotribune.com/kidnews.
No green thumb required
Give Mom the write stuff with pens in a pot
Practical or pretty? Pretty or practical? Give Mom a gift that’s both with ink pens disguised as posies. Flowerpot pens cost less than $10 to make and solve the problem of not being able to find something to write with when you’re taking phone messages. Pick a daffodil and get scribbling!
Kids visiting the Chicago Tribune for Take Our Daughters to Work Day went to work making this quickie Mom’s Day gift. Here are their how-tos:
What you’ll need:
Four or five stems of silk flowers
Ink pens
4-inch clay pot
About 2 cups of small red beans or black beans
Green florist tape
(We snagged our supplies at craft and grocery stores.)
1. Take a capless ink pen and place a flower stem so its end is about an inch above the pen’s tip. Grab the florist tape and wrap the stem to the pen, starting at the pen’s top and working your way to the tip.
“To get started, pinch the tape at the top so it stays. Do the same at the bottom when you’re done wrapping the pen,” said Lucy B., 12, of Oak Brook.
“Make sure the tip of the pen is below the stem,” Kathy W., 10, of Bolingbrook added.
Wrapping the pen is the trickiest part, but “it’s easier if you twist the flower instead of the tape,” Lizzy O., 12, of Oak Park advised.
Do you wrap the cap? The general agreement was don’t bother. “You don’t need the cap. The beans will keep the tip covered,” Isabelle C., 11, of Lake Bluff said.
2. After you’re done wrapping each flower, grab your clay pot and fill it with beans–they’ll act as the “dirt.”
“Before you put the beans in the pot, tape the hole in the bottom” so they don’t spill, said Janelle B., 11, of Munster, Ind.
3. Arrange your flowers in the pot. “If you want to make the flowers look good, cut the flowers to different lengths,” Rennie L., 11, of Oshkosh, Wis. said.
Hey, you’re done! How simple is that? Added Erin Y., 9, of Chicago: “If you want, you could decorate the pot.”
–Carol Monaghan
NOT THE CRAFTY TYPE?
Go to chicagotribune.com/kidnews for a list of 10 things you can do to make Mom smile.
