Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8101 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10
• Released on: 2002-10-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 286 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780064410120
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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, KY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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

Customer Reviews

Back in the Belly of the Beast
When we last left the Baudelaire orphans at the cliff-hanging ending of the 8th book in the Series of Unfortunate Events series, The Hostile Hospital, Sunny, Klaus and Violet were hiding in bullet hole-ridden trunk of Count Olaf's car on their way to parts unknown. As it so happens, the orphans are out of the frying pan into the fire in this new book, a phrase that herein means, "have gone from one bad situation where Violet was barely saved from certain unnecessary surgery, into a possible worse one by hiding in the trunk of the Count's car."

The count, as it turns out, is barreling off with his troope of odd characters to the tent of Madame Lulu the fortune teller, who lives far out in the Hinterlands. Like other books in this Unfortunate Series, the orphans continue to be in mortal peril (a phrase that herein means "dreadful danger") as they avoid the clutches of Count Olaf. Managing to disguise themselves as carnival freaks, they take up residence in Madame Lulu's freak show aside a humpback, a contortionist and a very glum ambidexterous fellow who can use either hands equally well.

Madame Lulu, who may not be all that she appears to be, has mysteriously always provided the Count with information about the Baudelaire trio, which finally explains how exactly he always knows where they are and how to find them. She drops hints that one of the orphan's parents may have survived the fire that apparently killed them back in book #1 (The Bad Beginning), and she gets oh-so-close to explaining the true meaning of VFD, and readers of the series and of Mr. Snicket's unauthorized biography are lead tantalizingly close to the answers for which they've sought about VFD and why Count Olaf, Jaques Snicket and Madame Lulu have tattoos or insignia of an eye on or about them. Pieces of the puzzle are just beginning to fit together, but not...quite...

This is, of course, the ninth book in the series, and Mr. Snicket gives us some hints, as he always does, at the end of the story to the next book in the series, which I assume will be called "The Slippery Slope." Readers who have read up to this point will be delighted and enthralled by the mysteries that peek out here and there throughout the book, like prarie dogs peeking out of their burrows before quickly disappearing again. If you have not yet read books 1-8 in the series, it is recommended that you do so before attacking "Carnivorous Carnival", as much of what happens in this story won't make sense if you've not been following the sad lives of the Baudelaire orphans since the beginning. From this quiet part of the world ;) this reviewer and constant reader of the Series highly recommends this and other books in the series.

sometimes the carnival is no fun at all..........
Justin Pergolini
Room 22

I am a fifth grade student at Waldron Mercy Academy(JP).The book I am reviewing is THE CARNIVOUROUS CARNIVAL by LEMONY SNICKET.PLEASE RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.THIS REVIEW IS DANGOURUS AND MUST BE ERASED. You could not possibly want to hear the horrible events in this book...that is what Lemony Snicket whould say if he was typing this. Unlike Lemony Snicket this book is one of the best books I've ever read. Trouble has struck again for the Bualdeluares. Our story begins with the Bauldeluares in the trunk of Count Olafs long black car. The Bauldelaures are three orphans named Violet,Klaus,and Sunny whose parents died in a horrible fire. Count Olaf is a greedy man who has followed the Bauldelaures everywhere they go trying to steal the orphan's fortune and has faked his own death and blamed the poor Bauldelueres for the murder. The Bualdelueres have left their recent ''home'' at Hemlich Hospital, which I am sorry to say is no more, and found a small glimmer of light in its library of records.............

The Bualdelaures arrive at Calarigi Carnival (which I am sorry to say is no more either) where they hear of a fortuneteller who is telling Olaf where the orphans are all the time. The Bauldelaures disguise themselves as freaks to get a job at the carnivals house of freaks. It's horrible there as the Bualdelares are treated harshly on stage. They are in even more danger when Count Olaf announces the next big attraction at the carnival:feeding some lions one freak a day that is randomly selected from a hat. But that night the Bualdelares find out a little secret about the fortuneteller...

But I am afraid that tragedy strikes again for the Bauldelares and this dark road is very long indeed...........

A Series of Unfortunate Events #9
This story was one of the best books I've ever read. I found myself staying up all night reading it. It's about 3 sibs, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They've been running from an evil man named Count Olaf. He's been finding the children by asking a fortuneteller who seems to always get the right answers. Now the 3 sibs are in disguise as a 2 headed freak and a half wolf half baby named, Chabo the Wolf Baby, in a freak house at the Caligari Carnival. Then Count Olaf buys a bunch of lions to put in a pit and guess which freak has to jump in with the lions.

I loved this book because it's really suspenseful, especially when Violet, and Klaus were about to jump to the lions. I really like this author's style of writing. I could really picture the carnival. Compared to the other books in the series this one's my favorite. I rate it 5 stars, because I liked it a lot, and it had great suspense.

Anna Flynn-Meketon