From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-At the opening of this final installment in the series, Eddie's parents tell him that they are sending him from England to America. Before his journey begins, however, numerous disasters are described, all of which seem to have happened to members of the boy's crazy family, but not to him. Unfortunately, the events do not proceed with enough character development or imminent danger to keep even avid readers hooked. Once young Dickens and his seemingly sweet but ultimately murderous chaperone board the ship for America, the action picks up, but many youngsters may not stick with this long-winded, confusing novel to find that out. Humorous black-and-white cartoons appear throughout. If your library has the first two of the trilogy, by all means pick up the third. Otherwise, look for Debi Gliori's Pure Dead Magic (Knopf, 2001) to meet the requests of your Lemony Snicket fans.Sharon R. Pearce, Chippewa Elementary School, Bensenville, ILCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
In the third book of the Eddie Dickens trilogy, Eddie once again faces obstacles from within his family and without, as he is delegated to rescue a floundering family newspaper in America. One might wonder how this is possible with the likes of Mad Uncle Jack planning the voyage, Lady Constance Bustle and Swags as traveling companions, and Even Madder Aunt Maud as a stowaway. Yet Ardagh, with his flair for the absurd and his backward and forward storytelling, brings Eddie home. Martin Rayner takes the characters and convoluted story line in stride. Using pauses and chatty familiarity, he manages Ardagh's frequent asides and parenthetical matter, enabling the listener to keep track of the threads of the story. The sense of a personally related family story is palpable. A.R. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. The third title in the Eddie Dickens trilogy finds the hapless young hero being sent to America on family business by Mad Uncle Jack. Eddie can't travel alone, however, and his sailing companion, Lady Constance, has a disconcerting history of "losing" employers and benefiting from their fortunes. Complicating matters are the discovery of Even Madder Aunt Maud (and her stuffed stoat) stowed away on board, a cargo of left shoes and a famous diamond, and a dastardly plot putting passengers at risk. Ultimately, things and thugs are well sorted out, leaving one to think that perhaps there's really no place like home, even if it happens to be Awful End. Like its predecessors, this quirky read, set in Victorian England, blends zany story lines and oddball characters with abundant, reader-directed digressions and commentary. Prose and format have vintage flair, as do the humorous, black-and-white illustrations. Lemony Snickett's fans will enjoy these (mis)adventures, which will be welcomed by series fans but can also stand nicely alone. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
A Book Sense Children's 76 Winter 2003 - 2004 title

"Lemony Snicket fans in need of a happy ending might take to this very British farce as a change of pace." --Kirkus Reviews

"Editor's Choice" --Boston Herald



Review
A Book Sense Children's 76 Winter 2003 - 2004 title

"Lemony Snicket fans in need of a happy ending might take to this very British farce as a change of pace." --Kirkus Reviews

"Editor's Choice" --Boston Herald



Book Description
The third (and final-or is it?) installment in the fabulous Eddie Dickens Trilogy!

"America?" said Eddie Dickens in amazement. "You want me to go to America?"

In the third installment of the Eddie Dickens saga, Eddie, our steadfast hero, finds himself en route to North America aboard the sailing ship Pompous Pig along with a cargo hold full of left shoes, the world-famous Dog's Bone Diamond, and some of the most disreputable traveling companions anyone might have the misfortune to share a berth with. A mysterious stowaway and some familiar faces from Eddie's past only complicate matters, as does being tied up and set adrift in a leaky rowboat. Will Eddie ever reach America?



Card catalog description
Leaving his parents, his Mad Uncle Jack, and his Even Madder Aunt Maud at home at Awful End, Eddie Dickens, along with the color-blind Lady Constance, boards the ship the Pompous Pig on a mission to America.

ANNOTATION

Leaving his parents, his Mad Uncle Jack, and his Even Madder Aunt Maud at home at Awful End, Eddie Dickens, along with the color-blind Lady Constance, boards the ship the Pompous Pig on a mission to America.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The third (and final-or is it?) installment in the fabulous Eddie Dickens Trilogy!

"America?" said Eddie Dickens in amazement. "You want me to go to America?"

In the third installment of the Eddie Dickens saga, Eddie, our steadfast hero, finds himself en route to North America aboard the sailing ship Pompous Pig along with a cargo hold full of left shoes, the world-famous Dog's Bone Diamond, and some of the most disreputable traveling companions anyone might have the misfortune to share a berth with. A mysterious stowaway and some familiar faces from Eddie's past only complicate matters, as does being tied up and set adrift in a leaky rowboat. Will Eddie ever reach America?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This fall marks the return of many favorite characters. Philip Ardagh wraps up the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, illus. by David Roberts, with Terrible Times, in which Eddie, in the care of Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud (if one can call it that), sets out for America and washes overboard-will he ever cross the pond? PW said in a starred review of the series' launch, A House Called Awful End, "Kids who lap up Lemony Snicket's series will take quickly to this tale and clamor for the next." Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Renee Englot

This is the third book in "The Eddie Dickens Trilogy." If you have not read the first two, don't worry, by the end of this book you will feel as though you know the stories of A House Called Awful End and Dreadful Acts. The story is delightfully ridiculous. Since young Eddie Dickens is the only member of his family not afflicted by insanity or a serious physical ailment, he is selected to travel from England to America to settle a business matter. His family unknowingly hires a murderess to act as his travel companion, but it turns out she is only one of the characters Eddie has to beware of. His aunt, Even Madder Aunt Maud stows away on the ship with her stuffed stoat, and one of the other passengers is an escaped convict who holds a grudge against Eddie. The writing style is almost an exact copy of Lemony Snicket's style in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The authorial voice is strong and were it not for digressions, the story would be less than half its length. Although the digressions, vocabulary lessons and history lessons are not handled as skillfully as in Snicket's works, it is a fun read. 2002, Holt, Ages 9 to 14.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-At the opening of this final installment in the series, Eddie's parents tell him that they are sending him from England to America. Before his journey begins, however, numerous disasters are described, all of which seem to have happened to members of the boy's crazy family, but not to him. Unfortunately, the events do not proceed with enough character development or imminent danger to keep even avid readers hooked. Once young Dickens and his seemingly sweet but ultimately murderous chaperone board the ship for America, the action picks up, but many youngsters may not stick with this long-winded, confusing novel to find that out. Humorous black-and-white cartoons appear throughout. If your library has the first two of the trilogy, by all means pick up the third. Otherwise, look for Debi Gliori's Pure Dead Magic (Knopf, 2001) to meet the requests of your Lemony Snicket fans.-Sharon R. Pearce, Chippewa Elementary School, Bensenville, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile

In the third book of the Eddie Dickens trilogy, Eddie once again faces obstacles from within his family and without, as he is delegated to rescue a floundering family newspaper in America. One might wonder how this is possible with the likes of Mad Uncle Jack planning the voyage, Lady Constance Bustle and Swags as traveling companions, and Even Madder Aunt Maud as a stowaway. Yet Ardagh, with his flair for the absurd and his backward and forward storytelling, brings Eddie home. Martin Rayner takes the characters and convoluted story line in stride. Using pauses and chatty familiarity, he manages Ardagh's frequent asides and parenthetical matter, enabling the listener to keep track of the threads of the story. The sense of a personally related family story is palpable. A.R.
© AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews