January 1, 2003
Unfortunate experience
Library holds Unfortunate Events party to celebrate Dahl and Snicket
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Captivating children's imaginations on paper, authors Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket grab them early and keep them reading.
Trading on these authors' enduring popularity with children, staff and volunteers at the Traverse Area District Library held an Unfortunate Events in Kids' Literature party Saturday afternoon that drew nearly two dozen children and their parents to the library. The party celebrated and encouraged reading. The afternoon featured a variety of games - including a James and the Giant Peach bean bag toss and a find Count Olaf mystery - fortune telling, puzzles and treats as well as readings from each author's works.
The main event was a face-to-face read-off between the two authors, where children voted on the icky meter who was the best (that is, grossest) writer. For four rounds, two librarians read excerpts from books such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Matilda" by Dahl or "The Carnivorous Carnival" by Snicket.
When the votes were counted, Snicket won the children's vote 5 to 3.
"I like Lemony Snicket better, he is really exciting because you don't know what's going to happen next and you can't put the book down," said Ian McIntyre, 9, a fifth-grade student at Interlochen Pathfinder School.
McIntyre is no stranger to Dahl, however, and does enjoy his writing.
"I read 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and I think it was funny when Violet turns in to a blueberry," he noted.
Katherine Wilson, 13, of Owosso was firmly in the Dahl corner though she gracefully accepted his defeat.
"I like Roald Dahl's word choices, he is so much fun to read," she said
The dark humor and over-the-top grossness of these two authors' books has a long tradition in children's literature, said Bernadette Groppuso, youth services coordinator at the library. Groppuso, who read Snicket excerpts during the read-off, made sure a table filled with other classic books was prominently displayed at the party.
"There are many classics that are popular that I think children who enjoy Lemony Snicket would enjoy as much," she said. "They can read these while they wait for the next Lemony Snicket book."
Nor Serocki, a fifth-grade student at Eastern Elementary School, is a Snicket fan and has read all eight books. With the ninth book on reserve, she came to the party dressed as Violet Baudelaire, the oldest of the three unfortunate children featured in the series.
"I like all the characters in the books," she said. "I feel that reading can take you anywhere in your imagination."
Librarian Sandy Robey faced off with Groppuso, reading excerpts from Dahl' books. Robey was helped in her endeavor by her fifth-grade students at the Interlochen Pathfinder School, where she serves as school librarian. Her students read Dahl's works and put bookmarks in all the gross parts, hoping to tip her hand in the contest.
Robey believes that children respond to authors such as Dahl and Snicket because it is a safe way for them to be scared.
"Like Miss Trunchbull, it is just fun for kids to imagine someone being that bad, though you'll never get a teacher that bad," said Sandy Robey, referring to Dahl's book "Matilda." "It's fun to be scared on paper."