I wasn't a fan of the Series of Unfortunate Events, but I was drawn to this book mainly because of the illustrations (I enjoy Seth, and his art is instantly recognizable). Yes, that's right...I judged this book by it's cover. And I was actually pleasantly surprised. The story is silly, but a little bit clever, and Snicket again uses his technique of defining words ("a word that here means...") to build vocabulary in a sneaky sort of way. I enjoyed it, despite the fact that resolution must wait for the rest of the series. I definitely think this would appeal to younger readers, though I do think it needs more illustrations...