SEE YOU LATER, GLADIATOR

Never ones to learn from past mistakes, Joe, Sam, and Fred, collectively the Time Warp Trio, again horse around until they knock open The Book and are whisked away to another era. This time it’s ancient Rome, and a gladiator school run by one (don’t you dare laugh) Dorkius. Losing no time setting off a food fight in the gladiatorial lunchroom and getting on the wrong sides of aptly named Horridus and Brutus, off they hie to the newly built Colosseum, to woo the crowds with some WWF-style razzle-dazzle, lead their hulking nemeses on a merry chase through the streets of Rome, and reclaim The Book, their ticket to the present, from a Vestal Virgin. As usual, the tale tumbles along at a frantic clip past cliffhangers, wisecracks, and even some subliminal tidbits of facts, the last capped by a handy list of English/Latin phrases, such as “Which way to the vomitorium? / Qua via itur ad vomitorium?” Even with a new illustrator slipping into Lane Smith’s accustomed place, the Time Warp Trio continues to rule the “skinny book” shelves with just the right hook for that elusive not-quite-avid-reader audience that loves them. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 9-11)