Complete List (pdf)

Lemony Snicket: Read Alikes

by Bonnie Kunzel and Katherine Bradley Johnson

So you've discovered the joys of Lemony Snicket. Just can't get enough of the zany adventures of those Baudelaire children? Like to read with your heart in your throat, pages turning fast and furiously, to find out what's going to happen next? Or maybe you enjoy books that make you laugh or even just chuckle? Then perhaps one (or more) of the books on the following list is for you.

But first, are you sure you've read all of the Lemony Snicket books?

The Lemony Snicket books in order are as follows:

1. The Bad Beginning
   After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits to protect themselves from their appointed guardian, a distant relative who is after their fortune.
2. The Reptile Room
   After narrowly escaping from the dastardly Count Olaf, the three Baudelaire orphans are taken in for an all-too-brief time by a kindly herpetologist.
3. The Wide Window
   Catastrophes and misfortune continue to plague the Baudelaire orphans, especially since fearful Aunt Josephine offers little protection against Count Olaf's treachery.
4. The Miserable Mill
   Accidents, evil plots, and general misfortune abound when the Beaudelaire orphans are sent to live and work in a sinister lumber mill.
5. The Austere Academy
   The outrageous misfortunes of the Baudelaire orphans continue when the dreaded Count Olaf follows them to a miserable boarding school.
6. The Ersatz Elevator
   The evil Count Olaf concocts a new plan for stealing the fortune of the Baudelaire orphans, who now live at Esmé Squalor's seventy-one bedroom penthouse.
7. The Vile Village
   It might take a village to raise a child, but it just doesn't work for an entire town to try to adopt the Baudelaire orphans.
8. The Hostile Hospital
   The three Baudelaire orphans have been falsely accused of murder and are on the run in the Heimlich Hospital , with evil Count Olaf in close pursuit.
9. The Carnivorous Carnival
   On the run as suspected murderers, the unlucky Baudelaire orphans find themselves trapped in the Caligari Carnival, where they must masquerade as freaks in order to hide from the evil Count Olaf.
10. The Slippery Slope
    In the perilous Mortmain Mountains, Klaus and Violet Baudelaire meet another well-read person, who helps them try to rescue Sunny from the villainous Count Olaf and his henchmen as they all near "the last safe place."
11. The Grim Grotto
    Still pursued by the evil Count Olaf, the Baudelaire orphans attempt to reach a very important VFD meeting, but first they must travel in a rattletrap submarine to the Gorgonian Grotto, a dangerous underwater cave, in search of the sugar bowl.

Then, you might like Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography .
The elusive author provides a glimpse into his mysterious and sometimes confusing life, using fanciful letters, diary entries, and other miscellaneous documents as well as photographs and illustrations.

Once you read all of the above, why not try some of the following:

Single titles:

City of Light, City of Dark: A Comic Book Novel by Avi; art by Brian Floca. (1993)
Asterel races against time to locate a token which will prevent the Kurbs from freezing the city.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (2001)
Twelve-year-old Artemis is an antihero, an evil genius who captures a fairy and demands a ransom in gold. Who knew that the fairies could fight back - with magic, technology, and the help of a really nasty troll.

The Owlstone Crown by X. J. Kennedy (1983)
Orphans Timothy and Verity are cruelly treated by their foster parents before escaping to another world where they are caught up in a struggle against a despicable tyrant and his wicked ally.

Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman (1998)
In the mountains of Switzerland the wicked Count Karlstein plots to abandon his two orphaned nieces in a hunting lodge as prey for the Demon Huntsman and his ghostly hounds.

I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman (2000)
Talk about an unusual orphan! Now he's a young boy, but he really was a rat, until he didn't make it back to Cinderella's coach in time.

Orphan stories by Barbara Brooks Wallace: not a series, but several books featuring orphans who must make their way against evil forces.

The Barrel in the Basement by Barbara Brooks Wallace (1985)
Pudding and Muddle are two little Furkens who find the perfect place to live - an elf-sized house in a barrel in the basement. Everything's perfect, until a human boy and his dog show up.

Cousins in the Castle by Barbara Brooks Wallace (1996)
Cousin Charlotte forces orphaned young Amelia to leave Victorian London for New York City . But upon arrival, the young girl is first abandoned and then imprisoned.

Ghosts in the Gallery by Barbara Brooks Wallace (2000)
Jenny, now an orphan, arrives at Graymark House to live with her father's relatives. But since she can't prove that she's related to the family, she is forced to work as a servant instead

Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace (1980)
Newly-orphaned Emily is looking forward to living with her aunt and uncle in their grand old mansion in San Francisco . But Sugar Hill Hall has changed - for the worse - and time is running out for its inhabitants.

Secret in St. Something by Barbara Brooks Wallace (2001)
In Victorian-era New York City , young Robin takes his baby brother and runs away from his cruel stepfather. He finds refuge in the basement of a church that his new friends, illiterate street boys, call St. Something.

Sparrows in the Scullery by Barbara Brooks Wallace (1997)
Once he was orphaned, wealthy young Colley went from a life of privilege to poverty in a Home for Boys, where he had to survive being forced to work in a dangerous glass factory as well as someone's efforts to kill him.

The Twin in the Tavern by Barbara Brooks Wallace (1993)
All alone in the world, Taddy watches helplessly as thieves steal first his family's possessions and then him, forcing the boy to work long hours on little food, carrying blocks of ice in an ice wagon. Help comes from a most unexpected source. (An Edgar Award Winner)

Series:

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori (2000)
The first in a series, featuring a brother, sister, and baby, the Strega-Borgia children, who live in a Scottish castle, and use magic and virtual trips through the internet to rescue their computer geek father when he is kidnapped by the mob. The sequel is Pure Dead Wicked (2002).

John Bellairs created three series featuring children who prevail against evil forces. Since Bellairs' death, Brad Strickland has completed some manuscripts left by Bellairs and has written some more stories featuring the characters created by Bellairs. Here are some of the novels in these series. Many of them were illustrated by Edward Gorey.

Lewis Barnavelt stories:

• The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs (1973)
  A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.
• The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs (1975)
  Lewis finds an old coin in a trunk. Not realizing it is evil, he tries to use it as an amulet and summons a dangerous ghost.
• The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs (1976)
  A young girl takes a trip with a friend of the family only to get involved with a mysterious letter, a magic ring, and a powerful witch.
• The Ghost in the Mirror by John Bellairs (completed after his death by Brad Strickland) (1993)
  Lewis's friends Rose Rita Pottinger and Mrs. Zimmermann are transported back to 1828 to save the Weiss family from being destroyed by a wicked wizard.
• The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder by John Bellairs (completed after his death by Brad Strickland) (1993)
  In 1951, while visiting a distant cousin in the English countryside, Lewis accidentally unleashes demonic forces and summons the ghost of an evil wizard bent on killing the Barnavelt family.
• The Doom of the Haunted Opera by John Bellairs (completed after his death by Brad Strickland) (1995)
  Lewis and Rose Rita are faced with a dilemma when their discovery of an unpublished opera score unleashes a wicked sorcerer who plans to rule the world by bringing back the dead.
• The Specter from the Magician's Museum by Brad Strickland (1998)
  When the evil sorceress Belle Frisson ensnares Rose Rita Pottinger in a magic web in order to steal her life force, Lewis Barnavelt must risk his own life to save his friend.
• The Beast under the Wizard's Bridge by Brad Strickland (2000)
  Lewis Barnavelt tries to avert disaster when the destruction of an old bridge threatens to release a diabolical force, the legacy of a long-dead evil magician.
• The Tower at the end of the World by Brad Strickland (2001)
  Lewis and Rose Rita battle Ishmael Izard, the son of the evil magician who tried to destroy the world with the Doomsday Clock.

Anthony Monday and Miss Eells stories:

• The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn by John Bellairs (1978)
  After stumbling upon a clue in the public library, Anthony Monday of Hoosac, Minnesota searches for the treasure long rumored to have been hidden by a wealthy, eccentric citizen of their small town.
• The Dark Secret of Weatherend by John Bellairs. (1984)
  Anthony and his friend Miss Eells, the Hoosac librarian, try to stop an evil wizard from turning the world into an icy wasteland.
• The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb by John Bellairs. (1988)
  It seemed weird that the antique store owner practically gave Miss Eells another lamp after she sent one crashing to the floor. Just how weird, Anthony and Miss E. would soon find out.
• The Mansion in the Mist by John Bellairs (1992)
  While spending the summer in an old house on a desolate Canadian island, Anthony and Miss Eells discover a chest that can transport them to another world and a maniacal group who are plotting the destructon of people on Earth.

Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass stories:

• The Curse of the Blue Figurine by John Bellairs (1983)
  Johnny Dixon is plunged into a terrifying mystery-adventure when he removes a blue figurine called a ushabti from church.
• The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt by John Bellairs (1983)
  Johnny Dixon and his friend Professor Childermass look for the hidden will left by an eccentric cereal tycoon who wished to make life difficult for his heirs after his own death by suicide.
• The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull by John Bellairs (1984)
  When Johnny Dixon takes a tiny skull from a haunted dollhouse, demonic forces are released, capturing Professor Childermass and leading Johnny on a harrowing chase to a deserted island off the coast of Maine .
• The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost by John Bellairs (1985)
  While Johnny Dixon lies dying, possessed by an evil spirit, his friends, Professor Childremass and Fergie, try to find some way to free him.
• The Eyes of the Killer Robot by John Bellairs (1986)
  Johnny Dixon is put in jeopardy when he and Professor Childermass try to find a robot made many years ago by an evil wizard.
• The Trolley to Yesterday by John Bellairs (1989)
  Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass discover a trolley which transports them back to Constantinople in 1453 as the Turks are invading the Byzantine Empire .
• The Chessmen of Doom by John Bellairs (1989)
  Johnny Dixon, Fergie and Professor Childermass comply with a strange will left by the Professor's brother, which requires them to spend the summer at a desolate estate where they encounter a madman bent on destroying the world.
• The Secret of the Underground Room by John Bellairs (1990)
  When Father Higgins disappears, Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass discover disturbing clues which lead them to England and an encounter with a long-dead knight.
• The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie by John Bellairs (completed after his death by Brad Strickland) (1994)
  When Johnny and Professor Childermass try to save the life of the elderly Dr. Coote, they find themselves facing the forces of a menacing voodoo cult.
• The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder by Brad Strickland (1997)
  When Fergie falls under the spell of an evil sorcerer, Johnny and Professor Childermass risk their own lives to save him.
• The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost by Brad Strickland (1999)
  Johnny finds an old, enchanted book in Florida and after he gets back home his father becomes gravely ill. Johnny and the professor discover that the spirit of Nyarlat-Hotep is attempting to overpower Johnny's dad in order to destroy the world.

The Wolves Chronicles by Joan Aiken
This series features children who face evil forces in an alternative version of England .

• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962)
  When Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage, she and cousin Sylvia go from the care of cruel Miss Slighcarp to a prisonlike school for orphans. Simon the gooseboy and his flock help them escape, but how will they get past the vicious wolves to rescue Willoughby chase?
• Black Hearts in Battersea (1964)
  Simon, the foundling from the earlier book, The Wolves of Willoughy Chase , arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting, but he finds himself in the middle of a wicked crew's plan to overthrow good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea.
• Nightbirds on Nantucket (1966)
  Dido Twite was saved from a watery grave but now finds herself leaving Captain Casket's ship in Nantucket to stay with the captain's daughter. But life is unbearable at the farmhouse of Aunt Tribulation, until Dido sets things straight.
• The Whispering Mountain (1968)
  With the help of some unusual friends, a young boy tries to restore the Golden Harp of Teirtu to its rightful owner, as the evil Hanoverians plot to overthrow the rightful Stuarts.
• The Cuckoo Tree (1971)
  As the result of an accident a young girl is faced with the responsibility of foiling a Hanoverian plot to put St. Paul 's Cathedral on rollers and roll it into the River Thames during the coronation of James IV.
• Midnight is a Place (1974)
  Lucas Bell and Anna-Marie Murgatroyd, eight, support themselves by working in a rug mill, and pay for the hospital stay of their tutor after the fire which destroyed Midnight Court in 1842.
• The Stolen Lake (1981)
  On her way to England from Nantucket aboard a British man-o'-war, Dido has many adventures when the ship is diverted to the land of New Cumbria in the southern hemisphere.
• Dido and Pa (1986)
  Dido becomes embroiled with villainous plotters against the king, including her own wicked father.
• Is Underground (1992)
  If it's the menacing atmosphere you like in the Lemony Snicket books, this one's for you. Is goes underground, literally, to search for two missing boys, one of them a prince. As a result, she solves the mystery of why so many children in London are disappearing.
• Cold Shoulder Road (1995)
  As they search for Arun's mother, Is Twite and her cousin Arun are grateful for their ability to communicate telepathically when they find themselves in a series of dangerous predicaments involving the evil Dominic de la Twite and his Silent Sect.
• Dangerous Games (1999)
  Her mission to bring an expert on games back to an ailing King James III in London takes Dido Twite to a small tropical island, where she is caught up in the conflict between a conniving city dweller and the more subtle powers of the native forest people.

Joan Lowery Nixon wrote two series about the orphans who were sent out west in the mid-1800s: The Orphan Train Adventures and The Orphan Train Children.

The Orphan Train Adventures follows the plight of the six Kelly children. They are technically not orphans because their mother is still alive. She loves her children but can no longer support them. So the Children's Aid Society takes them away and sends the to live with farm families in MO.

• A Family Apart (1987)
  Describes the shock the six children go through when they are separated from their mother, sent out west, and then separated again, to live with different families.
• Caught in the Act (1988)
  Michael Patrick Kelly does not have it easy in his new home, a farm in MO where he is at the mercy of its sadistic owner and his bullying son and in considerable danger because of a secret he has discovered.
• In the Face of Danger (1988)
  Trouble follows young Megan Kelly like a "bad-luck penny" to her new home in Missouri . Could it be the result of a gypsy's curse?
• A Place to Belong (1989)
  Danny and his sister were lucky to wind up living with their kind new foster father in MO. Now if they get only get him to send for their mother, life would be perfect.
• A Dangerous Promise (1994)
  Now 16, Mike starts out in the Union Army as a drummer boy but winds up wounded and trapped behind enemy lines.
• Keeping Secrets (1995)
  Living in MO during the Civil War, Peg gets involved with a Union spy.
• Circle of Love (1997)
  Nineteen-year-old Frances Mary Kelly, herself an orphan train rider six years before, returns to New York and agrees to escort a group of orphans west to find new homes.

The Orphan Train Children series tells the story of children who are not brothers and sisters but who wind up being sent west in 1866 on the Orphan Train, to a new and hopefully better life.

• Aggie's Home (1998)
  Aggie was abandoned as an infant and raised in the Asylum for Homeless Waifs in New York City . She continued to dream that her mother would one day return for her. Instead, she is sent out west on the Orphan Train and adopted by the eccentric Bradon family.
• David's Search (1998)
  When David came to live with the Bauer family, it was Amos, an ex-slave, who helped him adjust to farm life. In return, David helps Amos when the the Ku Klux Klan comes calling.
• Lucy's Wish (1998)
  When Lucy's mother dies, it is Lucy herself who decides to leave New York City on the Orphan Train, hoping to find a new home out west. She finds a new home all right, but the family that lives there is not at all what she had hoped for.
• Will's Choice (1998)
  Will is not actually an orphan. He lives with his father, a circus performer. But since he has no talent for circus tricks, his father sends him to a new life on the Orphan Train. He is taken in by a doctor and discovers that he does have a talent after all - that of helping sick people.

For older readers:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973)
Is there anyone who isn't in love with S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure, the "good parts" version, abridged? It's got everything - romance, adventure, kidnapping, an evil villain, lots of humor, and true love prevailing in the end.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (2001)
This is the beginning of a new YA series about a 14-year-old boy named Alex Rider. Alex is an orphan. His uncle was killed on an assignment for MI6. The head of the agency puts Alex into a special one-week training program and then sends him off to take over his uncle's assignment. He risks life and limb to stop an evil genius who is planning to release a deadly virus with the introduction of his Stormbreaker computer. James Bond move over! He has nothing on this kid.

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz (2002)
Sequel to Stormbreaker. Once again Alex is forced to work for MI6, who need a teenage boy to go undercover in an exclusive boy's school (named Point Blanc) in the French Alps. Several powerful and influential men have been killed under possibly mysterious circumstances. What they have in common is - sons at this school. What Alex discovers is a plot to replace the sons of men of power with mind-controlled clones. His next challenge is to get out alive. Just as much fun as the first.