A Series of Unfortunate Events - Netflix launches new series

We're on countdown in our house, and have been ever since we heard about the launch of the new 8 part Netflix Series of Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

A few of the boys in Ruby's class at school have been reading the books, and even her teacher is reading them and this piqued her interest.  It's not easy to take her out of her comfort zone - although she adores reading, like a lot of children she tends to get stuck on one particular author and reads and re-reads their entire back catalogue.

I'm so glad she tried these books, she was literally hooked from the start.  We were sent the first four in the series to coincide with the release on Netflix, and I've since had to go out and buy books 4-8.  She just can't put them down.

There's something darker and a little dangerous about them.  For kids who are looking for something to stretch them and challenge their imagination, and for those tired of books about kittens and unicorns, ASOUE is a breath of fresh air.

Focussing on the three Baudelaire children, orphaned and soon to inherit their parent's fortune, the tales follow them and the various evil guardians along the way, such as Count Olaf, who try their hardest to get their hands on the riches.  

Both the books and the publicity for the new TV series capitalise on the forbidden, imploring audiences to look away and as most parents know, if there's one sure-fire way to get a kid to do something, it's to tell them that they shouldn't!

The Netflix series, adapting the first four books promises to be gripping. Allowing more time to do justice to the story-telling than the recent film which seemed to slip under the radar, it has a gloriously dark, humorously gothic feel - the director was also responsible for The Addams Family.

I know Ruby's friends are looking forward to the launch on Friday 13th January, and it will be wonderful for her to have that opportunity to share a series socially.  As adults, we pour over our Netflix binges with friends, discussing characters and plot twists, or enjoy the community of a book club to dissect stories as a group, so I'm really glad that kids will now have the chance to enjoy this as a group activity, and with a narrative that's very different from anything else out there for pre-teen kids.

There's still time to get your hands on the books and join the read-along so you can get involved in the chat.  You can find out what others think using the hashtags #ASOUEBooks and #ASOUE on social media.  Friday the Thirteenth was never so eagerly awaited!

Disclosure: This is a featured post.