The Wide Window facts for kids
The Wide Window is the third book in the popular A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket. In this story, the Baudelaire orphans, Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, and Sunny Baudelaire, go to live with their Aunt Josephine. She is a very nervous person who seems to be afraid of almost everything! The book was released on February 25, 2000, by HarperCollins and has cool drawings by Brett Helquist.
First edition cover
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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 |
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| Publisher | HarperCollins |
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Publication date
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February 25, 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 214 |
| ISBN | 0-06-440768-3 |
| OCLC | 41355668 |
| Fic 21 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.S6795 Wi 2000 |
| Preceded by | The Reptile Room |
| Followed by | The Miserable Mill |
Contents
The Story of The Wide Window
Mr. Poe places the Baudelaire orphans – Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, and Sunny Baudelaire – with their new guardian, Aunt Josephine. She lives in a house high up on a hill. This house looks out over Lake Lachrymose, a huge lake where even hurricanes can happen! Aunt Josephine is scared of almost everything. She is afraid to cook because she thinks her stove might explode. She even fears her own welcome mat! Her library is full of books about grammar because she loves learning about the English language.
While helping Aunt Josephine at the grocery store, Violet sees a sailor named "Captain Sham." Violet quickly realizes that Captain Sham is actually Count Olaf in disguise! Count Olaf is the evil villain trying to steal the orphans' fortune. However, Aunt Josephine doesn't believe Violet. She thinks Captain Sham is charming and kind.
That night, the children hear a loud crash. They find that Aunt Josephine has seemingly jumped out of the Wide Window. This window looks directly over Lake Lachrymose. She left a note saying that Captain Sham would now be their new guardian.
Mr. Poe refuses to believe the children. He thinks their claim that Count Olaf wrote the note is untrue. He takes them to a cheap restaurant with a very excited waiter. To get a moment to think, Violet puts peppermints in her own food and in Klaus's and Sunny's food. The children are allergic to peppermints and break out in hives. This forces Count Olaf to let them go back to Aunt Josephine's house.
Klaus then discovers something amazing. The note is in Aunt Josephine's handwriting, but it has hidden grammar mistakes. When they put the mistakes together, they spell out "Curdled Cave." Just as they figure this out, Hurricane Herman hits! The house starts to break apart and fall into the lake.
With this new information, the Baudelaire orphans decide to steal a boat. They go to Captain Sham's boat store near Lake Lachrymose. The hurricane is still raging. There, they meet one of Count Olaf's helpers, a very large person. The children bravely face the storm and reach the Curdled Cave. Inside, Aunt Josephine reveals the truth. Count Olaf forced her to write the note. He also broke the Wide Window himself to make everyone think she had jumped out and died.
On their way back across the lake, dangerous Lachrymose leeches try to attack them. The leeches can smell food in Aunt Josephine's stomach because she ate a banana too soon. The children manage to signal for help. But only Count Olaf arrives on a ship. He leaves Aunt Josephine to face the leeches alone. Then, he brings the children back to the house.
There, Sunny proves that Captain Sham is Count Olaf. She bites his fake wooden leg in half, showing his eye tattoo underneath! Count Olaf and his helper then lock the Baudelaire Orphans and Mr. Poe in the gate of Captain Sham's boat rental. They escape, leaving Mr. Poe to find a new home for the orphans once again.
What Happens Next
On the side of a building in the story, there is a sign shaped like glasses with squinting eyes. This sign hints at Dr. Orwell's Office, which appears in the next book, The Miserable Mill.
Special Editions
A special paperback version of The Wide Window was released on September 4, 2007. It was called A Series of Unfortunate Events No.3: The Wide Window or, Disappearance!. This edition was made to look like old Victorian "penny dreadful" stories. It included seven new drawings. It also had a comic called The Spoily Brats by Michael Kupperman and advice from Lemony Snicket.
Other Languages
The book has been translated into many different languages:
- Croatian: "Široki Prozor"
- Czech: "Široké okno", Egmont, 2001, ISBN: 80-7186-184-7
- Dutch: "Het Rampzalige Raam", (The Catastrophic Window), Huberte Vriesendorp, 2006, ISBN: 978-90-216-1540-0
- Finnish: "Avara akkuna", (The Wide Window), ISBN: 951-0-26518-7
- Greek: "Το Φαρδύ Παράθυρο", Ελληνικά Γράμματα
- Indonesian: "Jendela Janggal", (The Weird Window), Gramedia, 2003, ISBN: 979-22-0567-5, 10603021
- Japanese "大きな窓に気をつけろ" (Beware the Big Window) ISBN: 4-7942-1124-4
- Korean: "눈물샘 호수의 비밀" (Secrets of the Lacrimal Lake), Munhakdongnae Publishing Co, Ltd., 2002, ISBN: 978-89-546-0836-7
- Norwegian: Iglene i innsjøen (The Leeches in the Lake), Karoline Melli, Cappelen Damm, 2001, ISBN: 9788202204259
- Brazilian Portuguese: "O Lago das Sanguessugas" (The Lake of Leeches), Cia. das Letras, 2000,ISBN: 85-359-0171-X
- Russian: "Огромное окно", Azbuka, 2003, ISBN: 5-352-00431-7
- Spanish: "El ventanal", Montena, 2004, ISBN: 0-307-20937-7
- Polish : "Ogromne okno" (The Giant Window)
Movie and TV Show Versions
Parts of The Wide Window were included in the 2004 movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. The story was also made into the fifth and sixth episodes of the first season of the Netflix TV series. In the movie, Meryl Streep played Aunt Josephine. In the TV series, Alfre Woodard played the character.
See also
In Spanish: El ventanal para niños
