As a kids' book, The Bad Beginning is a dark book about three children who must try to survive a series of unfortunate events. Though the vocabulary in the book might be a bit large for younger readers, the narrative often pauses and explains what a bigger word means. The plot is well-detailed and creepy. This book may have laid the foundation for my later interest in suspense and mystery stories. 
 For readers who aren't kids, this book, as well as the entire series, may fall a little flat. The characters are underdeveloped and very much caricatures - people are either good or bad with no shades of gray in between. The dialogue sounds unnatural to an older reader's ear and the narrator's digressions are unnecessary and sound a little patronizing; that's probably why I donated my copies of this series when I was in late middle school. 
 Personally, I don't think this book (or series) extends itself to older readers that well, but for younger readers with a dark sense of humor, this is a fantastic read.