NEW YORK, NY – MAY 23, 2006 – To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) Summer Reading Program, the nation’s largest bookseller has partnered with Lemony Snicket, author of the bestselling “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” to help encourage children to improve their reading throughout the summer in a fun and rewarding way.  The theme this year is “A Summer of Unfortunate Events,” and it marks the first time the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program has partnered with an author.

Daniel Handler, Mr. Snicket’s representative, will kick off the Summer Reading Program with a darkly hilarious, slyly comedic musical performance for more than 150 schoolchildren at the Downtown Washington, DC Barnes & Noble (555 12th Street NW) on Tuesday, May 23, at 11:00 AM.

Through the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program, students in grades 1-6 can continue to improve their reading skills during the summer.  The program encourages children to develop their own reading preferences, nurture their vocabulary and analytical skills, and motivate them to extend their reading beyond the summer. 

Children everywhere have avidly enjoyed the works of Lemony Snicket as he chronicles the travails of the unfortunate Baudelaire orphans.  Barnes & Noble stores will distribute Lemony Snicket-designed reproducible activity kits and journals, each containing four student activities, to educators nationwide.  Students, who read any eight books of their own choosing, list them, and record their favorite part of each book in their A Summer of Unfortunate Events journal, can receive a Barnes & Noble coupon for a free book from a list of bestselling paperback titles.  Students can bring their completed journal sheets into any Barnes & Noble store across the country to receive their free book. 

Parents can pick up activity kits and journals at their local Barnes & Noble store. Free pdf downloads are also available online at www.barnesandnobleinc.com. Click on the "Our Company" section and then "Community" to find the free downloads.

“Lemony Snicket is a wonderful author whose delightfully dark tales capture the imaginations of children everywhere,” said Josalyn Moran, vice president of children’s books for Barnes & Noble, Inc.  “With Daniel Handler’s involvement on behalf of Mr. Snicket, we anticipate Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading Program will once again be a great success. We are eagerly looking forward to the release of Mr. Snicket’s final book of the series, The End.”

“Summer is a miserable season, offering us little more than sunburn, melted ice cream, and the horrors of arts and crafts.  It is best to spend these months indoors with a good book and a glass of lemonade that has not been poisoned,” said Lemony Snicket.

Students bringing in their completed journal will also be entered to win an autographed copy of Lemony Snicket’s The End – the thirteenth and last in “A Series of Unfortunate Events” – in a drawing that will take place on the book’s publication date, Friday, the 13th of October 2006.