" ... Like the movie, this book tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children, who despite being pleasant lead unpleasant lives. From the very beginning of this volume, when the children are driving down a bad-smelling road toward a house full of mysterious beasts, continuing on to the last page of this distressing story, disaster lurks at their heels. Unlike the movie, however, this book does not contain moving pictures"--Jacket flap.