The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 9)
"The Carnivorous Carnival" Book the Ninth in the Series of Unfortunate Events highlights Violet, Klaus and Sunny's journey with the Caligari Carnival.
We open with the Baudelaire orphans hidden in the trunk of Count Olaf's speeding car. Neither Count Olaf nor any of his five traveling companions are aware of the stowaways which means the children are safe for the time being. When the car stops and the voices of Olaf and company fade, the children climb from the trunk only to discover they have been driven to the current location of the Caligari Carnival.
After doing a bit of eavesdropping, Violet, Klaus and Sunny learn that Madame Lulu, the "boss" of the carnival, is in need of more Freaks for her House of Freaks Caravan. Realizing they should be in disguise they decide to create Freaks of themselves. Violet and Klaus suit up into an enormous pair of pants and a shirt to become a two-headed person and Sunny transforms herself into Chabo the Wolf Baby using a fake beard. They are convincing enough Freaks to be hired by Madame Lulu and they are sent to live with the other Freaks in their caravan.
And so, the saga of the Baudelaire orphans continues as they are forced to perform as Freaks in the carnival. People make fun of them and heckle them to act more freakish. They encounter a cage full of hungry lions and become aware of the purpose of them. As a new attraction, a Freak will be fed to the starving lions everyday. Guess whose idea this is -- Count Olaf's!
"The Carnivorous Carnival" is the ninth book in a projected 13-book series. It is full of wit, suspense and heroism as the Baudelaires protect and take care of each other while working together to solve the mystery that took their parents away from them.
I learned of the Series of Unfortunate Events books when my, then 8-year-old daughter asked to read them. Knowing all of her books are read and approved by me first, she asked me to take a look. I have to admit, I was hooked from the first chapter of the first book. I love this series and have encouraged my children to read and enjoy them.
Having said that, I feel compelled to put up a red flag on this particular book. I had a hard time deciding if my daughter should read this book on her own, or if this one should be a read-aloud. The problem is the lions. The first introduction of them described as skinny and hungry, packed tightly in a cage, biting and roaring to the descriptive use of whips to control them is just plain disturbing. As if that isn't enough, the graphic narrative of the lion's pit with the emaciated animals fighting and clawing for food -- which ends up being a few carnival members -- is almost too much. In the end, I let my daughter read it on her own after warning her of the content. We discussed it when she was done and it didn't bother her as much as it did me.
I have come to the conclusion that this series of books is worth reading by all. The grammar is superb, which is delightful to see since proper grammar usage appears to be a dying art. The author uses a lot of innovative tactics describing difficult words and how to suitably use them. Also, the 'unlucky' theme is constantly being played on in quirky little ways. For example, each book has 13 chapters and the entire series will contain 13 volumes.
Don't shy away from this series based on this one book -- just practice parental caution.
