cover image Return to Howliday Inn

Return to Howliday Inn

James Howe. Atheneum Books, $16.95 (128pp) ISBN 978-0-689-31661-6

Howe here brings back the amusingly articulate cast of animal characters introduced in Bunnicula and later featured in Howliday Inn , The Celery Stalks at Midnight and Nighty-Nightmare . The author generously peppers this caper with his trademark puns and snappy one-liners, which are all the more droll for coming from the mouths of canine narrator Harold, dachshund puppy Howie and quick-thinking Chester the cat. These pets spend the week of their owners' vacation at Chateau Bow-Wow, a boarding kennel where they meet up with Felony and Miss Demeanor, tough-talking ``cat burglars''; Bob and Linda, dogs sporting stylish caps; and Hamlet, a melancholy old Great Dane. Convinced that someone is about to do them in, this wacky menagerie masterminds a mass escape from the kennel and manages to reunite Hamlet with his lonely owner. Howe's fans will find this as scrumptiously silly as his critters' earlier adventures. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)