THE ADVENTURES OF ERASMUS TWIDDLE: Grmkville's Famous & Talented Not-Detective

This rather inane collection of episodes told by a self-conscious narrator centers on a young sleuth from Grmkville and his eccentric fellow residents. "By the way, Erasmus is not a three-legged goat who can recite the Japanese alphabet backwards while balancing a cane on the tip of his nose and dancing the Charleston. You probably knew that already, but I thought I should tell it to you all the same," notes the narrator, introducing the hero. Among the mysteries and "not-mysteries" Erasmus cracks are locating Letty Faffenhuffal-Hefenfaffer's stolen soggy dumpling and retrieving the "Lost Thought" of a puzzled baboon who plunks down in the middle of a busy intersection, causing a traffic jam. Eagle-eyed Erasmus also manages to capture the culprit who has purloined the townsfolk's "Every furgle and fleb and grumber and hojie,/ Every ploff and yonk and oogoo and eebee." The offbeat cast of characters includes Lolly Gallagher, a classmate of Erasmus with a weather system hovering above her head, and Bagby Butterbottom, an aspiring actor pal who loves to reciteth lines from his favorite plays (e.g., The Merry Munchkins of Windsor). Though occasionally amusingly nonsensical, first-time author Laster's rather repetitive narrative leans more toward banal than clever. Abshier contributes diverting black-and-white drawings. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)