"Bunnicula" by James Howe

The sixth book that I have read for the Young Readers Challenge is "Bunnicula" by Deborah and James Howe.

For those of you who enjoy reading aloud to your children, I would recommend this book, as well as the sequels. The age group that it would be appropriate for would be 8-12, the elder of that group reading it on their own, obviously.

This is the most hysterical book I have ever read to my own children. While it is a children's book, the humor will appeal to adults and will send you into fits of laughter -- and the kids will look at you like you are crazy. Just remember to read the forward -- it will set the tone for the entire adventure.

The book is about the Monroe family, Mom, Dad the two boys and Chester the cat and Harold the dog. It is presented from the viewpoint of Harold. The family is very educated, sophisticated and so are the pets.

"At this point, I feel I must explain something. In our family, everyone treats everyone else with great respect for his or her intelligence. That goes for the animals as well as the people. Everything that happens to them is explained to us. It's never been just "Good boy, Harold," or "use the litter box, Chester at our house. Oh no, with us it's "Hey Harold, Dad got a raise and now we're in a higher tax bracket," or "come sit on the bed, Chester, and watch this Wild Kingdom show. Maybe you will see a relative."

So, you can see that Chester and Harold had quite a bit of adjusting to do when the Monroes brought home a new family member -- Bunnicula -- a bunny. Now, Bunnicula has some peculiar behaviors and Chester decides that he is going to get to the bottom of it. He has a theory and decides to test his theory which only gets him in deep trouble. Harold is torn between his loyalty to his old friend and his empathy for his new friend.

This isn't your usual, run of the mill dog and cat story. It is intelligent, hysterical, poignant and isn't the least bit difficult for an adult to get into while reading to the kids.

I would definitely recommend this book and I enjoyed reading it again, myself.