lemony snicket was really out there teaching us as elementary schoolers about grey morality, about how neither good nor bad people always get what they deserve, how being clever and kind doesn’t always guarantee you will triumph (although it’s certainly better than the alternative), how ignorant/complacent/dismissive though well-meaning adults can have just as harmful an impact on children as those with ill intentions, and how not every story has a happy and complete ending
Also the meaning of, like, a whole bunch of words
I just wanna say that narrators/narrative voice that talks to the reader, offers commentary on the story they’re relaying, explains things when needed, introduces words and concepts in a way that provides context, anticipates and reacts to the emotions the story likely inspires in the reader, and just otherwise provides an enjoyable sort of conversation along with the story? That is my absolute jam and there needs to be more of it in the world.