"UNCOVERED! Weird, Weird Stories"

by Paul Jennings ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

The author of Unmentionable! (1993) and other unforgettable! collections offers nine more stories in the same outrageous vein. A cat possessively sits on a strange pair of bird's eggs, only to become ""Picked Bones"" when they hatch; one child finds it easier to keep a single rabbit as a secret pet than the hundreds it soon becomes (""Too Many Rabbits""); another, embarrassed when her father plays practical jokes with ""pretend cat poo,"" neatly (and disgustingly) turns the tables (""A Mouthful""). Jennings displays his usual flair for riveting titles (""Pubic Hare"") and first lines (""The man next door buried his wife in the backyard""), and the humor, though frequently gross, is tempered by moments of tenderness; in ""Just Like Me,"" an awkward, unhappy child pens a love letter that finds the right recipient years later. These variations in tone, plus a brain-bending time-travel paradox (""Backward Step""), play off the array of puns, fecal jokes, and macabre plot twists; Jennings may shock adults, but his tales are guaranteed to delight less-practiced readers.

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 134

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S