A Company Of Captivating Creepiness

Are your doors and windows locked?  Are all the curtains closed and the blinds lowered?  Do you have a flashlight or matches and a candle handy in case the lights unexpectedly go out?  Is your best buddy, your furry friend, nearby?  Are you snuggling with a favorite blanket or stuffed toy you haven't used in years?  If you answered yes to all of these, you might be ready to read a collection of new truly scary stories.

My last encounter with a Guys Read title and an explanation of the series was Guys Read:  Other Worlds (Walden Pond Press, September 17, 2013) edited by Jon Scieszka with illustrations by Greg Ruth.  Stories from those outstanding creators still linger in my mind.  On September 16, 2014 the fifth title, Guys Read: True Stories (Walden Pond Press) edited by Jon Scieszka with illustrations by Brian Floca was released.  Ten authors known for their stellar work in writing nonfiction contributed.

The newest book, the sixth in the series, Guys Read:  Terrifying Tales (Walden Pond Press, September 1, 2015) edited by Jon Scieszka with illustrations by Gris Grimly is another highly anticipated work which exceeds all expectations.  I did not pace myself in reading these stories.  I consumed them like a survivor of a hike across Death Valley gulps cool water.  Michael Buckley, Nikki Loftin, Adam Gidwitz, Kelly Barnhill, Dav Pilkey, Daniel Jose Older, Rita Williams-Garcia, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown, R. L. Stine and Claire Legrand, whose work you think you may know, will garner your respect for their versatility as writers.  These tales, their stories, will give you the willies for weeks...or longer.

 Jon Scieszka's introduction exquisitely sets the tone with a winning combination of creepy and comedy.  Here is a sample passage.

I'm not sure why some people like to read scary stories.  Many experts say it might be a way of conquering fears in practice.  Other experts say they love the rush of excitement, and the relief when the terror is over.
I say these people are nuts.


I hear my little brother's terrified screams a block away.  I pump my pedals as hard as I can and steer my bike toward home.  Tearing through my yard, I destroy my mother's azalea bush on my way to the back of the house.  There I find him clinging to the highest rung of a rotting rope ladder.

Tyler's imaginary friend, who through therapy with a child psychiatrist, he has walled out of his mind for years is back...in the flesh, befriending his four-year old brother.  Michael Buckley paints a horrifying picture of the realm of imagination crossing into reality.  Caught in a web of deception Tyler fights for his own sanity and the lives of his family.


My mouth is full of tarry black candy.  Licorice needles, Mrs. Carlson calls them.  She gave me a few long pieces, said I could have the whole jar if I didn't mess up reading today.

Nikki Loftin designs a scenario so normal the truth will pierce deep into the depths of your soul.  An old blind woman (or is she) misses reading her favorite literature.  A seventh grade boy needs to bring his English grade up to a B.  His mom thinks it's the ideal situation for them both with Jeremiah reading to Mrs. Carlson after school every day plus she makes the most delicious baked treats.  Do you remember the childhood chant of sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me?  Jeremiah discovers how truly evil words can be.


Once upon a ti---
I'll stop.  You don't even want me to finish that sentence.  Now you think I'm going to tell you a fairy tale.  You did not pick up this book in order to read a fairy tale.  You picked up this book to read a story that would scare you; that would freak you out; that would give you nightmares; a story so scary you'd pee your pants.  That's the kind of story you're looking for.  Right?

Trust me when I say Adam Gidwitz gives his own special treatment to a classic fairy tale of gruesome top-notch horror.  Three sisters, three brothers, hunters every one, and one man, a fowler, who is farthest from ordinary as you can be all live in a great, wild wood.  The youngest and least beautiful of the sisters, Marleenken, observes strange events but her clever mind seeks solutions.  Marriage, magic and murder might be mentioned more than once.


Before I start this story, let me first say that it is never, never, never, never, never okay to push your brother down a creepy, old, possibly bottomless well.
Or, almost never. 

There are legends attached to fountains and wells.  Wishes made when a coin is tossed into one are said to come true.  In Kelly Barnhill's version a rock with a paper wish attached thrown into a well on a polluted parcel of land gets carried to devilish darkness.  This wished-for brother has healthy appetites.  This wished-for brother has Arne, best friend Jamal and Owen the family cat going where they should not go and doing what cannot be undone.


When I was a kid, I loved scary things.  I watched horror movies constantly.  ...And my bedroom was filled with tons of cool monster stuff.

What by day was perfectly fine turns totally frightful every night for this boy.  Sneaking a flashlight to shine a bit of brightness works pretty well until the third grade, then Dav Pilkey sees what no guy should see; a sister who is not all there, so to speak.  Needless to say the commotion he creates causes his parents, particularly his dad, to make his life scarier than he can ever have imagined.


I haven't been back here since that night two years ago when my father died.  Then, it was summer.  I wore a red T-shirt and even though it was late, the sky still glowed purple and red over the abandoned sugar factory across the river.  Now it's October, and the night is everywhere, pushing through the skyscraper corridors on the howling wind.  The air tightens and releases like giant gasps; the whole city seems like it's trembling, waiting for the storm to hit.

Since the evening his abuela sent him to bring his father home for dinner, Marcos has not spoken a single word.  The events leading up to and after his father's murder have haunted him as have spirits coming from the river.  Daniel Jose Older leads us and Marcos on a journey where waiting and wanting blend with reality and the realm on the other side of life.


This is how I know something's different about my mother.  My waste not, want not, save-don't-spend mother says to me, while we're all next to the JetBlue check-in line, "It's not too late.  I can still get you a ticket."  She takes a blue booklet from her purse and sings, "I have your passport!"

Rita Williams-Garcia does not waste a single sentence wrapping us in mystery, tension and eventually terror from the beginning.  Winston, his brother Colin, who has escaped to college, and his dad are convinced their mother and wife has become a darker version of herself but that's ridiculous...isn't it?  After her return from Jamaica her gift to Winston of three coconut heads bearing an uncanny likeness to his cousins pushes him to fight for his life on his own.  Winston's worst fear is realized.
Chop, chop, chop.


If I'd known what suffering Thaddeus Rolf would bring me, I'd have put an end to my life right then.
Instead, I took his. 

Who can blame a thirteen-year-old lad from wanting to escape grueling servitude at the hands of an unrelenting master?  Certainly desperation pushed him to commit this heinous crime, assuming the identity of another man.  As Adele Griffin tells it and Lisa Brown visualizes it for us, Rolf punishes his assassin with his artistic ability from beyond his tomb in a barrel of stout.  For any crew member aboard the good ship, Charming Molly, a tattoo is a sign of a worthy sailor.  With each inked piece appearing on the boy's body, without benefit of a tattooist, disasters plague the voyage, the ship and its men.  There is no escaping this curse.  None whatsoever.


My name is Mark Martindale, but my magician name is Magic Marko.  Yes, I'm one of those weird kids who is totally into magic and magicians and tricks.  Someday, I'm going to be a famous magician and amaze millions of people.  I'm serious.  

Mark's best gift ever is a suitcase filled with one hundred magic tricks.  As fast as he can, trick by trick, he perfects them and marvels people with his abilities.  When a master magician comes to town Mark will do anything to attend the show, even if he has to take his pesky seven-year-old brother, Kevin.  Mark and his brother are about to discover the truth behind Alexander the Semi-Great's boast of not performing tricks but bending reality.  R. L. Stine is the true magician in this story.


Grandma Ruby had never trusted libraries.  "Don't go," she told Clark one gray day, when he was twelve years old and in the seventh grade, and quite frankly hating life at the moment.  

Clark and his new best friend Nina go to the library regardless of Grandma Ruby's eerie whispered songs which she sings daily since her daughter, Clark's Aunt Mara, has disappeared. As soon as Clark meets the librarian, Mr. Dunn, his eyes neatly hidden behind glasses glaring in the lights of the library, all his instincts tell him this man is wrong, this place is wrong.  When the shadowy kids with too-long limbs wearing masks slid up and down the shelves and walls, it's too late.  Then Claire Legrand writes

That was when the lights went out.


Guys Read:  Terrifying Tales edited by Jon Scieszka is a superb gathering of ghoulish, ghastly, and ghostly occurrences.  The characters conceived by these ten authors will amaze you with their bravery, threaten to freeze the blood in your veins with the depth of their evilness, and have you cheering at their wit.  Sheer dread seeps into you and your surroundings by their written words creating visions of worlds better seen than entered.  You have to remember to keep breathing believing the slightest sound on your part could signal your demise.  You should plan on getting multiple copies in your classroom or school libraries.  This title would make a great treat to hand out at Halloween.

The illustrations by Grim Grimly featured to the left of each story's beginning (with the exception of the Dav Pilkey and Lisa Brown images) depict the essence of each tale.  Shivering is not an option but a direct result from seeing each picture.  You will never look at old ladies or coconuts the same way again.

Do follow the links attached to each author's name to access their websites, learning about them and their other work.  I have included a link to the page at the Guys Read website for this title.  Enjoy reading a lengthy excerpt courtesy of the publisher.  

@Loveofxena @librarykittie SMOOCH! I’m glad you liked my Guys Read story! True: I read for a lovely blind lady in 6th grade. No licorice. ;)

— Nikki Loftin (@nikkiloftin) October 15, 2015

A Hare-Raising Episode

Reflecting on the power of creativity, the imagination, oral and written storytelling, the only two words more compelling than "once upon a time" are "what if".  For authors and illustrators who dare to extend their thinking, the results for readers and listeners have been phenomenal.  They have made us gasp in surprise, taken us to the edge in fear, broken our hearts, healed our hearts and made us laugh ourselves silly.  Most important of all, the best of these are favorites, not for the moment but for years.

Back in June, Julie Danielson at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast interviewed Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett and Matthew Myers about a collaboration of theirs to be released in the fall of 2013.  Needless to say, this post revealed the process for and the creation of a book destined to be gleefully enjoyed by children (and adults) of any age.  One week ago an article was posted on the Publishers Weekly website, Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, and Matthew Myers 'Battle' It Out in New Picture Book,  with all three individuals talking about their work on this title.  At this point (even though I had seen an ARC at a bookseller's shop), I could hardly wait to get the finished book in my hands.  Battle Bunny (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) is definitely not what Gran Gran intended as a gift.

Bunny woke up from a night of pleasant 
dreams.  Today is a very special day, he thought.
Today is my birthday.  Today, I am not just a bunny.
                  attle
I am the Birthday Bunny.

For his birthday, Alexander, Alex, has received, what I would consider the very best kind of present from his grandmother, a book.  Before the narrative even begins, it's obvious Alex's taste in literature does not run parallel to his grandmother's idea of a good story.  Oh, no sirree, Alex has decided this tale will not be filled with sweetness and light but of a raving rabbit on the rampage.  With writing implement in hand, he crosses out, adds words, and doodles all over the pages.  Ta-dah!  A new book is born.

Yes, Battle Bunny, will begin his birthday with a scrumptious breakfast of brain juice and a bowl of greasy guts.  Fortified he sets off into the forest to chop down as many trees as possible on his path to world domination.  First to confront him is Crow who is easily dispatched with a solid swing sending him beyond the clouds in the sky.

It's interesting at this point to note a new character has been added.  His name is none other than Alex; perhaps a superhero of sorts, wearing a capital A on his shirt.  He has just completed a person to person call to the President of the United States.

Badger goes down with a swift kick.  Squirrel's feisty bees are no match for the blistering buzz of Battle Bunny's chain saw.  Alex's second call to the president is rebuffed; after all he is only a boy.

Martial artists fail leaving the horrendous hare free to wreck havoc on mountains and national treasures.  Will the President of the United States change his mind?  Can this madness be stopped?  This is one birthday fated for the annuals of history.


One can only guess as to the boisterous brainstorming between Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett as they drafted and wrote both these stories, the gentle, sweet but predictable Birthday Bunny followed by the maniacal mayhem of Battle Bunny.  Every textual change is a reflection of minds given free rein, to enjoy childhood.  It's like Saturday morning cartoons on the printed page.  The word play is straight from the mind of a nefarious villain, a would-be hero and a world leader in need of saving.  Here are a couple of examples. (These represent the text as re-written.)

"That is so false!" said Battle Bunny. Because
today I am going to whomp on you, birdbrain,
and pluck you like a sick chicken!

Sgt. Squirrel smiled.  "Today is a special day because I
have robot killer bees in my tree and now I am
ready to sting your butt and save the forest!!


Illustrator Matthew Myers jumps into the comic chaos with both feet by altering the front and back cover (and spine) expertly; even the tiny bunnies along the top edge of the back look ready to fight.  Opening and closing endpapers, two-tone cream with darker carrots in rows, are identical except for the back, featuring a disgruntled hand-drawn Battle Bunny striding away.  The title pages and verso with kid-like doodles galore will garner a captive audience.  Little changes like Book design by Dan Potash, a hand drawn pot followed by pot of ash, being included or adding letters to balloons to read, See what happens to bunnies on doomsday.  

Full-color illustrations rendered in oils and pencil provide the superb contrast to the dark drawings.  Some of the pictures are full page, two are double page, edge to edge.  Most are circular in shape allowing for plenty of room to showcase the modified tale.  His characters and their actions are so lively you feel as if you might have to close the book to keep them from jumping off the page.  I have to say the first illustration where I laughed out loud was of Battle Bunny sitting at the breakfast table, looking ready to change the world (in his favor), skull and crossbones drawn on his sippy cup, sporting an eye patch, scarred ear, guts coming from his cereal bowl, an arrow shot into the Hole Sweet Hole sampler on the wall and the world MAY end soon on the calendar.


Get ready to buzz, boom, and trounce your way through the pages of  Battle Bunny written by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett and Alex with illustrations by Matthew Myers and Alex. Action-packed adventure is an understatement as this bunny is bent on destruction of the highest order.  Your imagination will be ready to run as wild as this rabbit's antics. Guaranteed.  I would plan on getting extra copies.  And cake might be a good idea too.

I invite you to check out the author and illustrator websites by following the links embedded in their names above. A special website for Battle Bunny has been created allowing users to download one or all of the pages of this title, so they make their own changes to the original story.  Submitted alterations are being posted at the site.  A curriculum guide is in place for educators.    

Where Are We?

Over the years the circulation of short story collections seems to be a hit-or-miss phenomenon.  Sometimes a particular title is never on the shelf, others sit there unloved until given a blessing by someone who has enjoyed it.  To me short stories are small masterpieces, like picture books, they have less space to convey what the author wants readers to relish, understand or question.

In 2001 Jon Scieszka, author extraordinaire and first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, began the web-based literacy program Guys Read.  In 2005 he edited and wrote for Guys Write for Guys Read, a goldmine of short stories, essays and insights, authored by more than 90 of the best and brightest minds in children's literature.  In 2010 he began a short story collection series Guys Read. To date these titles have been published, Guys Read: Funny Business edited by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Adam Rex (Walden Pond Press, 2010), Guys Read: Thriller edited by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Brett Helquist (Walden Pond Press, 2011), and Guys Read: The Sport Pages edited by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Dan Santat (Walden Pond Press, 2012).

During attendance at the American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition in June, I was fortunate to get an ARC of the fourth volume in the set, Guys Read: Other Worlds edited by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Greg Ruth to be released on September 17, 2013.  These stories by authors, Rick Riordan, Shannon Hale, D. J. MacHale, Tom Angleberger, Neal Shusterman, Rebecca Stead, Shaun Tan, Kenneth Oppel, Eric Nylund and Ray Bradbury (yes) take readers into the realm of science fiction and fantasy.  They are so finely crafted I had to pace myself to read one a day.  I might have finished in one sitting otherwise.  

Jon Scieszka states in the introduction:

All fiction and storytelling is answering that "What if..." question.  But science fiction and fantasy go a step further: They bend the rules of reality. 

I know what you're going to ask.

"Percy Jackson, why are you hanging from a Times Square billboard without your pants on, about to fall to your death?"

Rick Riordan opens the collection with a brand new story featuring our favorite demigod who ends up in a serious predicament.  You never know what to expect when Apollo crashes your best friend's birthday party with a request.  It seems one of his golden automatons, a celedon, has gone astray; damage control is of the utmost importance.

When I staggered into the town, I hadn't eaten in three days.  My big brother's armor pressed heavy on my shoulders.  His sword hung long from my belt, scraping the ground. I tripped over it, fell face- first into a mud puddle, and wondered, If I just lay here, how long would it take me to die?

Spark has run away from home taking a few of her older brother's belongings.  Three days without decent shelter or food have weakened her to the point she claims to be what she is not; desperately needing the job of a bouncer in a tavern, the Grinning Goat.  Shannon Hale uses this falsehood to reveal a character who cleverly uses past experience to her best advantage surprising everyone, including herself.  Two things change everything, her brother Forge shows up and so do the dreaded Ash Raiders.

Kit was on his own.  That was his first mistake. 

You may think you have a pretty good idea what scouting entails especially if you've been a scout.  Kit thought he did too, until his plan to evade the rest of the group on a two day camping trip turns into a life or death struggle.  The mind of D. J. MacHale has spun a tale of twists and turns that will have you watching the sky and wondering.

The great commander is about to speak to his conquering army!

The crowd of ten million soldiers falls silent as he hops to the microphone....Listen....

Of course the commander is a super-duper shoe as are all the soldiers.  Yes, shoes!  They are more like robots than footwear; their designs are so advanced.  According to the man behind this madness, Tom Angleberger, they have had it with humans.  Get ready to burst out laughing.

"Your hands are filthy, your hair is filthy---Tanner, you can't come to school like this, surely you must know that?"

Principal Hammond leaned back in his chair, perhaps hoping to distance himself from the unfortunate aroma of Tanner Burgess's clothes.

Soon enough the state of fourteen-year-old Tanner's cleanliness will be the least of anyone's worries.  He and others, a colony, have been hurtling through space for generations, hoping to populate a new planet.  What the architects of this mission did not reveal to the ship's occupants,  Neal Shusterman does to readers, one suspenseful page at a time.  

Thursday

April 19, 2013

Dear_______________,

Because whoever is reading this, I have no idea who you are. I haven't even figured out where I'm going to stick this thing when I'm done with it, but it'll be somewhere secret, somewhere hard to find, and it might be a long time before anyone reads it.

Rebecca Stead places the reader squarely in a very tense situation, a letter is being written by a prisoner in his own home. A boy is worried about his parents, they will do anything for him.  Cats, the Mothership and empanadas figure into the solution and...the problem.


When stepping into the fabric of a story woven by the artwork and text of Shaun Tan, readers find themselves surrounded by a distinct oddness.  The familiar is portrayed in unfamiliar circumstances.  On a typical day one might be awakened by a giant cicada, stand alongside the road, mug in hand, waiting for an enlarged coffee pot to walk by to deliver your morning java jolt or use a gigantic pencil (3X your size)to complete your work.


When the train arrives in Meadows, it seems to Luke to be like all the other forlorn places they have stopped along the way.  

There are some museums which should be avoided.  Kenneth Oppel's Klack Bros. Museum, located fifteen miles outside of Meadows is one of them.  An attraction kept behind a locked door has become attached to Luke.  It seems this supernatural force has plans of its own.


Commander Kane looked from the bridge of his mighty warship, Colossus.
The central view screen showed a blue planet swirled with clouds.  A world called "Earth." Its defenses would only take a minute to annihilate. 

What Commander Kane does not factor into the previous comment is Rule 039 and two boys at recess; two boys who are more geek than athlete.  One team after another descends to Earth to play in the basketball game of all basketball games.  Will strategy over strength rule the day?


 During the night, Sim was born.  He lay wailing upon the cold cave stones.  His blood beat through him a thousand pulses each minute.  He grew, steadily.

Imagine a mission gone horribly wrong.  Imagine only being able to live eight, at the most eleven days; physically spending a lifetime in such a short time.  Imagine extreme heat and extreme cold limiting your time outside the caves to a matter of minutes each of those days.  Will this tragic cycle ever end? Ray Bradbury is a master storyteller.


Guys Read: Other Worlds edited by Jon Scieszka is one of the finest short story collections, in any genre, I have ever had the pleasure of reading.  Each story is stunning in its inventiveness, in its ability to reach out and grab the reader's attention quickly and completely.  The tension, humor, action, the sheer adventure of each, is heightened by the skillful use of language, the pointed dialogue between characters and the created worlds we eagerly enter. One story, any story, and your listeners will beg for more.  The artwork of Greg Ruth, beginning each chapter, is a subtle nod to a key portion in each story, even more so in the Tom Angleberger piece.  I think my favorite might be for The Warlords of Recess.  A boy wearing a numbered T-shirt is getting read to shoot a basket, the ball is planet Earth.  

Please follow the embedded links to all of the author/illustrator websites.  You will like these stories so much, you will want to read more of their work, if you have not already done so. I have also included a link to Guys Read.  Follow this link to the publisher website to access a Discussion Guide.

Sizzling Scieszka

It came as no surprise to those of us familiar with the work of Jon Scieszka that he would be awarded the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature medal given by Librarian of Congress James H. Billlington on October 11, 2008.

 Prior to and after serving  this two year term he wrote the Time Wrap Trio series which currently has its own TV show, the newer Trucktown books and a dozen picture books on all things weird and wonderful.   One of many done in collaboration with Lane Smith is the Caldecott Award Honor book , The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. 

Jon Scieskza has been a true champion for the cause of promoting not just reading but specifically reading for boys and young men.  At Guys Read he has numerous lists of time-tested books for guys, he has started a library of anthologies called Guys Read; the first is Guys Read-Funny Business which had me rolling with laughter.  In the Guys Read blog yesterday he announced that the second book, Guys Read-Thriller is being released tomorrow.  He offers a separate page for encouraging guys to start a reading group offering print-outs and advice.


Nearly a year ago his newest series began with Spaceheadz,  Book #1.  In describing this newest tome two words come to mind--wild and wacky; well maybe three--hilarious.   Michael K. is the new kid at school and his first day experiences in Mrs. Halley's fifth grade class at P.S. 858 are out of this world---literally.

Paired with two new kids who give a whole different meaning to the word strange, Michael slowly becomes convinced that they are truly aliens from an unknown planet and their mission leader is the class hamster, Major Fluffy. This convincing comes in the form of Bob and Jennifer's speech which is strictly in commercial "sloganese" or other well known short phrases from Big Time Wrestling.
The boy nodded back.  "JUST DO IT."  The girl drew on her Star Wars lunch box: SPHDZ . This was getting beyond weird.  "Michael K., I'M LOVING IT!" said the boy.  "We need your help.  You must become a SPHDZ.  Save your world.  I am Bob."  "Jennifer," said the girl in that deep, echoing voice.  Michael K. watched Jennifer crunch the last of his Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2...Jennifer burped up the eraser from Michael K.'s only pencil.  She spit it out.  "SPHDZ---GET RRRREADY TO RRRRRUMBLE," said Jennifer.  Let's face it--who else would talk like that but two aliens?!

Then, too, there are the conversations between the duo and Major Fluffy who speaks, Week eek eeeekwee weee weee eeee ee eeeek eeeek.  Pair this with the inept surveillance of Agent Umber of the Anti-Alien Agency (AAA) complete with a Picklephone (R), a beat-up old white van and a multitude of surefire disguises that continually backfire and you have a day that gets nuttier and nuttier. 

Their mission on planet Earth is to get three point one four million and one Earth persons to become SPHDZ.  If this mission is not accomplished Earth will be turned off.   Using discarded trash as their technology,  Bob, Jennifer and Major Fluffy design a web site to lure Earthlings to become SPHDZ.  Michael K. has a decision to make, save his sanity or save the world.

Right before Christmas, Spaceheadz, Book #2 hit the scene funnier, if that's possible, than the first book.  Michael K., Jennifer, Bob and Major Fluffy have returned with absurd antics that define their determination to make this mission not impossible.  They are joined by techno geek students, TJ and Venus who have been observing the events with a skeptical eye. The characters of School Nurse Dominique and Agent Magenta become more fully fleshed-out.  Dad K. and the Ad Factory NY offices add another piece to the ever-growing puzzle.  Readers discover that Mom K. is an employee of the ZIA.  But with each revelation more questions rise to the surface which just adds to the increasingly fast-paced action.

Toss in a class project that matches this group of six with the kindergarten students practicing for their version of Little Red Riding Hood, a day of bad food in the school cafeteria and an agent lurking in the sewers of Brooklyn and readers are in for one madcap adventure with a mighty suspicious ending. 

Throughout both books black and white illustrations from the mind of Shane Prigmore extend the downright goofy dialogue and events.  It is like seeing the visuals created in your imagination from the text of Scieszka appear right before your eyes on the printed page.  Sprinkled among the chapters of both books are one page explanations of terms that pop-up in the course of the story, TV and radio, waves, interference/amplification, camouflage and mimicry, to name a few.

Additional appeal for this series comes with five web sites, SPHDZ #1 Website, Mrs. Halley's Comets, Anti-Alien Agency, I'm Sure Glad That Didn't Happen and The Ad Factory.  By going to the Simon and Schuster link here those can be accessed.  Number three in the series comes out this fall and I count myself among those readers who can't wait.

To say that my fan factor for Jon Scieszka is high is an understatement.  Oh, and did I mention, he was born and raised right here in Michigan.  Enough said.