Subversive Kiddie Lit, or: Is Our Children Reading?

If they are, they may be absorbing some decidedly liberal commentary from an unexpected source: A Series of Unfortunate Events, by the pseudonymous "Lemony Snicket."

For those of you who are unfamiliar with these books, they chronicle the adventures of the unlucky Baudelaire orphans as they strive to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths, and to keep their inheritance out of the hands of their nemesis, the evil Count Olaf.

One of the funny bits of the series is the baby-talk of the youngest orphan, Sunny. She communicates by uttering one-word phrases which are shorthand for some long, involved train of thought. Sunny's "nonsense" phrases are often puns or obscure references to things the average child reader wouldn't get.

I was reading the most recent book today during lunch, and almost died laughing when I read this:

"Be quiet this instant," Olaf ordered.

"Busheney," Sunny said, which meant something along the lines of, "You're an evil man with no concern whatsoever for other people."

Oh, my.