WILEY AND GRAMPA’S CREATURE FEATURES #1

Readers will scream, but definitely not in terror, at this tale of a truly unforgettable Halloween outing. After attempting to warn off timorous “Ladies and gentlemen, boys, girls, dogs, and upper marsupials,” young Wiley and his Grampa slip away from Gramma to take readers on a stroll through a dark and stormy night. Off they go to Colonel Dracula’s Monster Truck Spectacular, which features such huge-tired machines as the Behemoth Broncosaurus, Vlad the Impala and the Mudsucker—billed as “the vorld’s [sic] first and only vampire truck!” Highlighted by a visit to the jocular Colonel’s dank den and a crazy careen home with Gramma at the wheel, chased by both a tornado and the aforementioned Mudsucker, the tale zooms by in a flash—not least because Simpsons-style illustrations occupy at least as much page space as does the text—and should zoom off the shelves with the speed of a Captain Underpants episode. Next up: Grampa’s Zombie BBQ (0-316-05943-9 trade, 0-316-0594200 paperback). (Fantasy. 10-12)