The Grim Grotto facts for kids
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| Author | Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler) |
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| Illustrator | Brett Helquist |
| Cover artist | Brett Helquist |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| Genre | Gothic fiction Absurdist fiction Mystery |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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September 21, 2004 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 323 |
| ISBN | 0-06-441014-5 |
| OCLC | 55681958 |
| Preceded by | The Slippery Slope |
| Followed by | The Penultimate Peril |
The Grim Grotto is the eleventh book in the popular A Series of Unfortunate Events series. It was written by Lemony Snicket, which is the pen name for Daniel Handler. This exciting story continues the adventures of the Baudelaire orphans. They find themselves on a submarine called the Queequeg. Their mission is to search for a mysterious sugar bowl hidden in a special underwater cave, known as the Grim Grotto.
Contents
Exploring the Grim Grotto: A Summary of the Story
This book follows the Baudelaire orphans as they continue their search for answers. They are aboard the Queequeg, a submarine. Their goal is to find a secret sugar bowl. This item is very important to the mystery of the V.F.D.
Searching for the Sugar Bowl and Facing Dangers
Klaus uses ocean maps to guess where the sugar bowl might be. He thinks it is in a place called the Gorgonian Grotto. Suddenly, Count Olaf's octopus-shaped submarine appears on their radar. But then, a strange object shaped like a question mark scares Olaf's submarine away.
Fiona, a new friend, looks in her books about mushrooms. She learns about the Gorgonian Grotto. It is a cone-shaped cave. This cave is home to a very rare and dangerous mushroom. It is called Medusoid Mycelium. These mushrooms are deadly when they are growing. The grotto is far away, which helps keep the poisonous mushrooms from spreading. Fiona hopes there might be a cure for the mushroom's poison.
When the submarine reaches the Grotto, Fiona, Klaus, Violet, and Sunny go inside. They float to a sandy beach covered with washed-up items. They find a small room with three lamps, two of which are lit.
While they search for the sugar bowl, the Medusoid Mycelium mushrooms suddenly start to grow. They pop up from the beach and the walls. The children quickly go back to the small room where the mushrooms are not growing. While waiting for the mushrooms to shrink, the children look at the items in the cave. Some of these items seem connected to the V.F.D. Sunny also finds some food, including a can of wasabi sauce. A few hours later, the mushrooms shrink. The children then return to the submarine.
Captured by Count Olaf and a Race for a Cure
Back on the submarine, they find that Widdershins and Phil have disappeared. Worse, a tiny piece of the poisonous mushroom has gotten into Sunny's helmet. Fiona stops Klaus from opening the helmet. She says Sunny must stay inside for everyone's safety. They need to find a cure first.
Just as the submarine starts to move, Olaf's submarine captures it. The orphans are taken onto Olaf's ship. They discover that captured Snow Scouts are forced to power the ship. The children are put in a prison cell. There, the hook-handed man questions them. He is revealed to be Fiona's brother, Fernald. Fiona begs him to help them get back to the Queequeg for Sunny's sake. Fernald agrees, but only if they take him with them.
While trying to sneak back to the Queequeg, Esmé sees Fiona and Fernald. They create a distraction. This allows Klaus, Violet, and Sunny to escape into the Queequeg without being seen.
Back on the Queequeg, Klaus and Violet search for a cure for Sunny. They use special V.F.D. poems. They realize that the cure is horseradish. They look for horseradish but cannot find any. They ask Sunny if anything is similar to horseradish. Sunny manages to say "wasabi". Her siblings quickly give her some of the was wasabi she found in the cave. They eat the rest of it too.
New Clues and a Surprising Return
While Sunny rests, a telegram arrives from Quigley Quagmire. The message tells the siblings to meet him at a secret place the next day. This is just two days before a big V.F.D. meeting. Klaus decodes the first part of the message. It tells them to meet at Briny Beach. This is where all their troubles first began.
As Violet starts decoding the second part, Olaf and his helpers find them. Soon after, the mysterious question mark object appears on the radar again. Olaf recognizes it and orders everyone to get ready to escape. Fiona realizes she made a mistake. She lets the Baudelaires escape in the Queequeg. Olaf grabs the helmet with the Medusoid Mycelium. Sunny fixes a huge hole Olaf made in the submarine using a giant ball of gum. They escape from Olaf's submarine.
The next day, they arrive at Briny Beach. Surprisingly, Mr. Poe appears from the fog. He received a message from someone named J.S. telling him to meet the children there. However, Violet has decoded Quigley's message. She knows a taxi will meet them at the beach. They say goodbye to Mr. Poe. They get into the taxi and find an unknown woman driving. She reveals herself to be Kit Snicket. The children climb into the taxi. For the first time, things seem to be going their way as the book ends.
Different Language Versions of the Book
The Grim Grotto has been translated into many languages around the world.
- Brazilian Portuguese: "A Gruta Gorgônea"
- Czech: "Ponurá sluj"
- Finnish: "Synkkä syöveri" (meaning The Grim Whirlpool)
- Greek: "Η Σπαρακτική Σπηλιά"
- Japanese: "ぶきみな岩屋" (meaning The Weird Grotto)
- Norwegian: Den grusomme grotten
- Russian: "Угрюмый Грот"
- French: "La Grotte Gorgone" (meaning The Gorgon Grotto)
- Polish: "Groźna grota" (meaning The Menacing Grotto)
Television Show Adaptation
This book was turned into two episodes for the television series. These were the third and fourth episodes of the third season. The show was produced by Netflix.
See also
In Spanish: La Gruta Sombría para niños
