35. The Bad Beginning

35. The Bad Beginning. (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) Lemony Snicket. Illustrated by Brett Helquist. 1999. 162 pages. [Source: Library] [j fantasy, mg fantasy, j fiction, mg fiction, 5 stars]

First sentence: If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. IN this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle.

Premise/plot: The three Baudelaire orphans--Violet, Klaus, and Sunny--star in Lemony Snicket's over-the-top Series of Unfortunate Events. The book opens with the three learning that their parents are gone and so is their home--in a mysterious fire. They soon find themselves "living" with their "closest" relative, Count Olaf.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Tim Curry and a full cast. I've also seen the feature film and a few episodes of the series.

My thoughts: I love the writing, the narration. The story itself is extreme and over-the-top. I loved the movie--which I believe combines the plot of the first three books. I do plan on reading more in the series.


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Because

Because. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Amber Ren. 2019. Hyperion. 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Because a man named Ludwig wrote beautiful music--a man named Franz was inspired to create his own. Because many years later, people wanted to hear Franz's beautiful music--they formed an orchestra. Because a man had practiced since he was a kid--he was asked to join.

Premise/plot: A young girl's life is changed forever when she attends a symphony. Half the story focuses on the before--the many, many becauses that lead up to that magical moment. Half the story focuses on the after--again using many, many becauses. Essentially the premise is MUSIC IS FOOD FOR THE SOUL. Also that it only takes a moment for a life to be changed.

From that moment on, the girl learned everything she could about music--because it fed her.
Soon, she started to write music, too--because, like Franz, the young woman had something to share.  

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. It is a BEAUTIFUL picture book. It had me at hello--with the end pages. Though to be fair, there is something about the cover of this one that says READ ME, READ ME. Though to be honest, I would have read this one anyway no matter what the cover looked like BECAUSE it's MO WILLEMS.

I thought this one was beautifully written. This one is perhaps a bit more sentimental than most of Mo Willem's previous books. Willem may perhaps be best known for two super-popular series: Elephant & Piggie and Pigeon. There is something almost lyrical about the text of this one--pure magic.

I also thought this one was beautifully illustrated. I'll never know if the illustrations alone would have hooked me--swept me up, up, and away--because I also fell head over heels in love with the text. But together magic is made in this one.

I would recommend this one FOR ALL AGES. The symphony that inspired her was playing Schubert's Symphony No. 8.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10



© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Iver & Ellsworth

Iver and Ellsworth. Casey W. Robinson. Illustrated by Melissa Larson. 2018. 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Ellsworth is a rooftop bear. Underneath him, a factory hums and a man bustles. The man's name is Iver. Iver and Ellsworth are good friends.

Premise/plot: Iver and Ellsworth are good friends. Iver spends his lunchtime visiting Ellsworth on the roof. But what will happen when Iver retires?!

My thoughts: I enjoyed this picture book. Not many picture books focus on older generations, on senior citizens. I loved getting to know Iver as he takes care of Ellsworth throughout the book. And I thought the ending was satisfying. Perhaps slightly concerning if you think about it too much, but satisfying.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Wolf, the Duck, & The Mouse

The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse. Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. 2017. 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Early one morning, a mouse met a wolf, and he was quickly gobbled up.

Premise/plot: Is that how you were expecting the story to open? Are you at all surprised that almost *all* of the book is set IN the wolf's stomach? The main characters are a MOUSE and a DUCK. These two meet--in the wolf's stomach--and both come to share the same opinion: THIS IS THE GOOD LIFE. Life on the INSIDE is much better than life on the OUTSIDE. On the inside, there are no worries, no fears. Just a lot of relaxing and coaxing on their parts--to get the wolf to eat what they want him to eat. But. Their good life is threatened one day....can the mouse, duck, and wolf work together?!

My thoughts: This may be my favorite Mac Barnett picture book. Maybe. I definitely loved it more than Triangle. I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed the plot. I enjoyed the ending--how he turns this into a this-is-why-the-wolf-howls-at-the-moon story. It was fun. It was bizarre.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

And the Train Goes

And the Train Goes. William Bee. 2007. Candlewick. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Here is the station all noisy and full, and the station clock goes tick-tock, tickerty-tock...and the man in the station office cries, "Hurry up! Hurry up! Any more tickets...?"

Premise/plot: I guess the point of this one is to make adult readers make a lot of silly noises out loud? There is a definite repeated pattern. "Here is the..." and "And the train goes..." The sounds themselves don't repeat all that often--until the ending when a parrot says all the sounds over again.

My thoughts: I was disappointed. It is not as obnoxious as say, The Wheels on the Bus. But I think it's a missed opportunity of a great train book with familiar, repeated train noises. For example, why is the fireman MUTTERING "shovel-shovel" to himself. That's not an onomatopoeia. It doesn't even make for a good story. For me, this one just lacks something.

Text: 2 out of 5
Illustrations: 2 out of 5
Total: 4 out of 10


© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

A Crown of Swords

A Crown of Swords. Robert Jordan. 1996. Tor. 896 pages.

I enjoyed A Crown of Swords more than Lord of Chaos. (Though Lord of Chaos had a few GREAT scenes in it.) I took my time with A Crown of Swords knowing that if I forced myself to stick to a certain pace, I wouldn't enjoy it as much. I wanted to want to keep reading this one--not out of obligation, not out of a need to get to the next book, but for the enjoyment of taking it one book at a time, one story at a time, one character at a time.

One of the reasons I didn't feel connected to Lord of Chaos were the ever changing perspectives. A Crown of Swords visits many characters, provides many points of views, follows dozens of stories. But the changes from one to the other flowed much better in my opinion. We'd spend several chapters with Rand, then spend several chapters with Mat, etc. I feel we got to spend at least a  little time with (almost) all the characters. We did get to spend more time with Mat and Min in this book. Min being friendly with Rand. Mat keeping an eye on some of the Aes Sedai (Nynaeve, Elayne, etc.) I still don't feel we get to spend enough time with all the characters. There are some favorites of mine which I'd love to follow more closely.

Several things happen in this one, though, I admit things happen very slowly except for when they don't. Some changes happen quickly, others seem to take several books to give the appearance of budging.

This book isn't as satisfying perhaps as earlier books in the series, but, I still was happy to spend time reading it. 

Read A Crown of Swords

• If you enjoy LONG fantasy series that move at their own leisurely speed
• If you love world-building in fantasy novels
• If you've enjoyed previous books in this series. This is #7.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Four Mac Barnett Picture Books

Chloe and the Lion. Mac Barnett. Pictures by Adam Rex. 2012. Hyperion. 48 pages.

This is me, Mac. I'm the author of this book. This is my friend, Adam. He's the illustrator of this book. And this is Chloe. She's the main character of this book. Wherever Chloe went, she looked for loose change. 

Poor Chloe, she's really not the star of this book. What is this book really about? Well, it's about the tug-of-war between the creative spirit of the author and the creative spirit of the illustrator. This adventure starts off okay, they agree that Chloe is a fun-loving girl who saves up all her coins, her money, so she can ride the merry-go-round in the park every Saturday. The fight starts with what happens one Saturday on Chloe's way back home....

The author feels that Chloe should meet a LION. The illustrator thinks it would be cooler if Chloe met a DRAGON. The two cannot settle their differences, so the author writes the illustrator out of the book....but is that the end of this story?

Chloe and the Lion is a very quirky book. It celebrates writing, drawing, storytelling, and teamwork. While I didn't personally love it, I do think it's a very unique book.

Extra Yarn. Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. 2012. HarperCollins. 40 pages. 

On a cold afternoon, in a cold little town, where everywhere you looked was either the white of snow or the black of soot from chimneys, Annabelle found a box filled yarn of every color. So she went home and knit herself a sweater. And when Annabelle was done, she had some extra yarn. So she knit a sweater for Mars, too. But there was still extra yarn. And when Annabelle and Mars went for a walk, Nate pointed and laughed and said, "You two look ridiculous." "You're just jealous," said Annabelle. "No, I'm not," said Nate. But it turned out he was. And even after she'd made a sweater for Nate and his dog, and for herself and for Mars, she still had extra yarn. 

Annabelle LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to knit. And since her supply of yarn seems to be never ending,  there's a good chance that her whole town will soon be covered in sweaters, scarves, and hats. But while many people welcome Annabelle and appreciate her special gift, there is one person who is very, very jealous...and he's willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants....

Extra Yarn is very quirky; it's definitely unique! For example, readers meet Mr. Crabtree.

She made sweaters for everyone, except Mr. Crabtree, who never wore sweaters or even long pants, and who would stand in his shorts with the snow up to his knees. "No sweater for me, thanks," said Mr. Crabtree. So she made Mr. Crabtee a hat. And even then Annabelle still had extra yarn. 

The characters, the story itself, the illustrations--there's just something very unique, very distinctive, very quirky about this one. Jon Klassen is the illustrator, and readers may notice that the animals from Klassen's I Want My Hat Back make an appearance in this one.

Oh no! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed The World). Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2010. Hyperion. 40 pages.

Oh no...
Oh man...
I knew it. 
I never should have built a robot for the science fair. 
Everything was going so well...
Until the rampage started, that is. 

Our narrator is a young girl who was a little TOO excited, a little TOO ambitious with her science fair project. Can she find a solution to the problem? Can she use her smarts to save the day?

This one was funny, in my opinion. The story was a little over-the-top, but in a good way. The text is simple, which gives the illustrations plenty of room. The illustrations do steal the show, perhaps. But the text is brilliant in its simplicity. "I probably shouldn't have given it a superclaw, or a laser eye, or the power to control dogs' minds" and "I should have given it ears. I should have taught it how to read."

Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built A Time Machine To Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade). Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2012. Hyperion. 40 pages.

Oh no. Not again. What a disaster. This is even worse than that time I built a gigantic rampaging robot. I didn't get a perfect score on my history test. I can't believe I missed the first question. Luckily, there's a simple solution. I just need to build a time machine and change history so I am right. Let's get this show on the road.

She's back. And this time the subject is history. When she misses the first question on her history test: "In what modern country do we find the oldest prehistoric cave paintings?" inspiration strikes again. She'll just build a time machine to make sure that Belgium has cave paintings that predates those in France. The problem? Well, you might guess that changing the past isn't that simple and definitely has dozens of consequences. I won't spoil this one for you, I really think you should read this one for yourself, but let's just say it's good...and she'd have been better off being happy with her A.

Read Mac Barnett

• If you're looking for quirky, fun, funny, humorous, unique, distinctive picture books on a wide range of subjects.
• If you're looking for books that celebrate creativity, art, and problem-solving.
• If you're looking for books that celebrate storytelling.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Two 2012 Picture Books

And Then It's Spring. Julie Fogliano. Illustrated by Erin E. Stead. 2012. Roaring Brook Press. 32 pages.

First you have brown, all around you have brown 
then there are seeds 
and a wish for rain,
and then it rains
and it is still brown,
but a hopeful, very possible sort of brown,

A little boy is waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for spring. He's waiting patiently--for the most part--for the seeds he planted to sprout. He's waiting for the world to change from brown to green...

This one is a nice read. I enjoyed the story, really enjoyed some of the writing. And the illustrations are nice. Some of the details are quite nice! For example, following the various animals from spread to spread--the dog, the rabbit, the turtle, etc. And I appreciated how spring came when he wasn't looking for it--looking for it so anxiously that is.

Read And It's Spring

• If you're looking for a picture books about spring, about the changing of the seasons
• If you're looking for picture books about gardening, planting seeds, nature, etc.
• If you're looking for books about patience

Baby Bear Sees Blue. Ashley Wolff. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 40 pages.

Deep down in the den, 
Baby Bear wakes up.
He yawns and blinks
and stretches his stubby legs.
In the den's dark wall,
an opening slowly fills with light.
A glow creeps in.
"Who is warming me, Mama?"
asks Baby Bear.
"That is the sun," Mama says.
Baby Bear sees yellow.
At the mouth of the den,
leaves dance on a twig.
"Who is waving to me, Mama?"
asks Baby Bear.
"That is the oak," Mama says.
Baby Bear sees green.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Ashley Wolff's Baby Bear Sees Blue!!!! It may just be one of my favorite, favorite books of the year. Readers meet Mama Bear and Baby Bear. Readers share in the experience as Baby Bear experiences the wonder of the world for the very first time. It's a book that celebrates life, celebrates nature, celebrates beauty, and, of course, showcases COLORS.  (I believe it also does a good job with the five senses.) Baby Bear is very, very curious. He asks his Mama lots of questions; there's a pattern in this one, a use of repetition, which I definitely appreciate. I think children will be able to anticipate and participate in this one--especially after they hear it a time or two.

Loved the writing and the illustrations!!! This is one I'd definitely recommend.

Read Baby Bear Sees Blue

• If you're looking for picture books about spring, about changing of seasons,
• If you're looking for picture books that celebrate nature, beauty of creation/nature
• If you're looking for a concept book about colors
• If you're looking for picture books that celebrate curiosity and the asking of questions
• If you like books about bears

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews