Lemony Snicket

Children's Literature - Michelle H. Martin

A new title in the "Checkerboard Biography Library Children's Authors" series, this small, colorful book conveys a wealth of information about the author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony Snicket. This picture book does a fine job of reflecting Snicket's humor, including fascinating facts such as that Handler's first book, was an adult book entitled The Basic Eight, and it was rejected by publishers 37 times. The book includes photographs of Handler at many different stages in his life, a black-and-white picture of the real Charles Baudelaire, and a shot of Handler posing with Meryl Streep and Emily Browning at the Los Angeles movie premier of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Readers will learn about Handler's work schedule, his family life, and his quirks, such as appearing at author talks as Daniel Handler while making up excuses for his audience about why the real Lemony Snicket couldn't show up for the event. Both fans and casual readers will enjoy this well-written, lively portrayal of this wildly successful author who was so convinced that he couldn't write for children that he composed the first title in the Unfortunate series as a joke for his editor. This is a biography worth picking up.