The Wide Window: Book the Third (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

by Lemony Snicket, Gothic Archies

Fortunately for young readers, Lemony Snicket has dedicated his life to informing readers of all the misfortunes that plagued the three Baudelaire orphans -- the unluckiest children to ever live. In The Wide Window, the third book in the series, the Baudelaire children are sent to stay with a distant aunt who lives on a cliff's edge overhanging the aptly named Lake Lachrymose, a foreboding body of water serviced by the Fickle Ferry and filled with sharp-toothed leeches who have deadly appetites.

Of course, the tale wouldn't be complete without the presence of the evilly scheming Count Olaf and one or more of his twisted sidekicks trying to get their hands on the children, or more accurately, on the children's fortune. Once again Olaf is in disguise, though the children recognize him immediately thanks to his unibrow and the bright, evil shine in his eyes. The tell-tale eye tattoo on his ankle seems to be missing, however, since Olaf's disguise this time is as a peg-legged sea captain.

The childrens' newest guardian, Aunt Josephine, is a master of phobias and an expert on grammar. She's frightened of tons of things -- some of them reasonable, such as the deadly leeches in Lachrymose Lake who took the life of her husband, and some of them not so reasonable, such as her fear of using the telephone. One thing she isn't afraid of, however, is correcting improper grammar. And as the Baudelaire children get several impromptu lessons on proper usage, so do readers. In fact, it's Josephine's obsession with language that helps the children uncover Count Olaf's latest scheme.

These stories require a hefty suspension of belief on occasion, but that's part of what makes them so much fun. Illustrator Brett Helquist adds to the pleasure by bringing the characters to life in drawings that often exhibit touches of the same wry humor found in the narrator's voice.

*

1~3 중에 3편이 가장 흥미로웠어요.

허리케인도 그렇고 거머리 이야기도 그렇고...

조세핀 숙모의 죽음은 몽티 삼촌의 죽음보다 덜 슬프더군요.

	거친 파도를 배경으로 왠지 보들레어가의 세남매의 인생도 순탄치 못하다는 생각이 드네요.
	조세핀 숙모를 만나기 위해 선박에서 기다리고 있는 세남매
	무시 무시한 바다 거머리들
	레모니 스니켓과 하퍼 콜린
	책 뒷편

 
(눈물 호수의 비밀)

The Reptile Room: Book the Second (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

  (파충류의 방)

by Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)

The three unluckiest children in the world and their greedy relative, Count Olaf, return for another misfortunate adventure in The Reptile Room, the second book in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Baudelaire children survived their first encounter with the dastardly and scheming Olaf, but the Count doesn't give up easily. Nor does the Baudelaire luck ever seem to improve.

At first it seems as if 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus, and their baby sister, Sunny, have finally had a turn of good luck when they meet their newest guardian. Dr. Montgomery, or Uncle Monty as he prefers to be called, is a herpetologist. One whole room in his house is filled with snakes of all kinds, including some very deadly specimens. But despite his slithery interests, Uncle Monty is a fun-loving and generous caretaker who treats the Baudelaire orphans with love, respect, and kindness. But as anyone who's read the first book in this series knows, good fortune won't stay long with the Baudelaires. For starters Count Olaf returns, disguised in a manner that doesn't fool the kids for a minute -- though they can't seem to convince any adults. Then Uncle Monty dies (supposedly after being bitten by one of his highly poisonous snakes) although the kids are convinced he was murdered by Olaf. And of course, Olaf and his sideshow cronies have dreamed up yet another plan to get their hands on the Baudelaire fortune.

The plot has holes big enough to drive a truck through and more than a few contrivances come into play. Nonetheless, there is something irresistibly alluring about all the bad luck and mayhem that befalls these fast-thinking children, who use their inventiveness, book smarts, and bite-ability to survive. Equally engaging is the mysterious narrator, Snicket, who taunts, tempts, and teases his way through the tale, revealing intriguing snippets of his own life and providing an ongoing lesson in the nuances of language.

*

이야기가 점점 흥미로워 책에서 눈을 뗄수가 없었어요.

몽티 삼촌의 죽음은 무척 슬프네요..

	마치 무시무시한 뱀이 써니를 잡아 먹을듯 보이지만, 실상은 뱀과 써니는 놀고 있는 중이랍니다.^^
	파충류 학자 답게 몽티 삼촌의 정원에서 뱀의 형상이 빠지면 섭섭하지요.
	뱀 목줄
	작가인 레모니 스니켓과 일러스트작가인 하퍼 콜린즈
	책뒷편

The Bad Beginning: Book the First (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

   (눈동자의 집)

by Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)

The Bad Beginning is actually a great beginning. It's the first book in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, a wonderfully different and disastrous children's story starring three highly unlucky siblings. In this first book, readers are introduced to the unfortunate Baudelaire children -- 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus, and their infant sister, Sunny -- when they learn they've just been orphaned by a terrible house fire.

The executor of the Baudelaire estate -- a phlegm-plagued banker named Mr. Poe -- sends the children to live with a distant relative: a conniving and dastardly villain named Count Olaf, who has designs on the Baudelaire fortune. Count Olaf uses the children as slave labor, provides horrid accommodations for them, and makes them cook huge meals for him and his acting troupe, a bunch of odd-looking, renegade good-for-nothings. When the children are commandeered to appear in Count Olaf's new play, they grow suspicious and soon learn that the play is not the innocent performance it seems but rather a scheme cooked up by Olaf to help him gain control of the children's millions.

All this bad luck does provide for both great fun and great learning opportunities, however. Violet is a budding McGyver whose inventions help the children in their quest, Klaus possesses a great deal of book smarts, and Sunny -- whose only real ability is an incredibly strong bite -- provides moral support and frequent comedy relief. Then there are the many amusing word definitions, colloquialisms, clichés, hackneyed phrases, and other snippets of language provided by the narrator (a character in his own right) that can't help but expand readers' vocabularies. Though the Baudelaire children suffer myriad hardships and setbacks, in the end they do manage to outsmart and expose Olaf's devious ways. But of course, with luck like theirs, it's a given that Olaf will escape and return to torment them again some day. If only misery was always this much fun.

*

영화 때문에 선택한 책인데, 재미있었어요.

한국은 5권만 출판된걸로 아는데, 여기는 벌써 10권까지 있더군요.

10편까지 있다니...

보들레어 가의 아이들이 불쌍하다는 생각이 드는군요.

	올라프와 보들레어 세 남매가 만나는 장면으로 첫 표지를장식했네요.
	불이 난 보들레어가의 집에 불끄러 온 소방관 아저씨들
	폐허가 된 집
	레모니 스니켓의 옆선과 일러스트가인 하퍼 콜린의 그림
	책 뒷표지

Anancy and Mr Dry-Bone

by Fiona French (Illustrator)

With eye-catching art and a saucy tone, French ( Rise and Shine ; Snow White in New York ) tells an original story based on characters borrowed from Jamaican and African folktales.

Both Mr. Dry-Bone and Anancy attempt to win the hand of Miss Louise who is "very clever, and very, very pretty."

Determined to marry the first man who makes her laugh, Miss Louise is not impressed with Mr. Dry-Bone, a skeletal scarecrow in black-and-white checkered pants who woos her with his conjuring tricks.

Anancy, a handsome black man, borrows clothing from various animals to create a ridiculous outfit and ends up making everyone laugh, even Mr. Dry-Bone.

The story is slight, but French's language is street-smart and jazzy. The illustrations--vibrant background colors overlaid with complex black-and-white silhouettes--are singular and striking.

*

아프리카에서 전해오는 구전동화라네요.

일러스트가 아름다운 동화인데, 어릴때 흰도화지에 여러가지 색의 크레파스로 색칠한후 검정크레파스로 덧칠해 벗겨낸 스타일로 되어있어요.

내용도 재미있었구요.

이 동화책을 다 읽고 집에 돌아가려는길에 갑자기 비가 내린 덕분에 홀딱 다 젖어버린 기억이 나네요.

The Boy Who Longed for a Lift

by Norma Farber, Brian Selznick (Illustrator)

"The boy went walking one fine day, / walking, walking, a long, long way. / He grew quite tired, so he cried, / 'Who'll offer me a ride? / Who'll carry me far and wide?'"

So begins Norma Farber and illustrator Brian Selznick's whimsical picture book The Boy Who Longed for a Lift. The story, language, and even the charming illustrations are as curiously old-fashioned as the title. As the beginning illustrations imply, the boy is feeling displaced by the new baby in the house, so he packs up a knapsack-on-a-stick and sets off for a journey.

When he gets tired, his innovative ride-finding mission takes off.

The brook, soft and swift, gives him his first lift, but the water gets too cold and he turns blue; the light and swift sailboat flips; the trout, sleek and swift, proves to be a slippery vehicle; a "far from swift" snail ride is rather boring; and the horseman, "galloping swift," goes a bit too fast, throwing the boy up into a tree.

 In the end, the would-be passenger discovers the benefits of using his own two feet, "till finally he was home. / His father ran out, strong and swift, / and gave the boy a lift." Young children will be swept up in the lyrical repetition of the story, Selznick's comical depictions of high-action adventure, and, of course, the happy ending.

*

읽으면서 재미있었던 책이예요.

시처럼 음율이 있어서 읽으면서 이해하기 쉬웠구요.
읽을때는 책 내용만 신경써서 몰랐는데,
나중에 다시 보니 책속에 세계의 기념비(에펠탑등)가 살짝 숨어 있어군요.

그것을 찾아보며 이야기를 나누는것도 재미있었어요.
아쉽게도 우리나라의 기념비가 있었으면 좋겠더군요.