THE ALIEN THAT ATE MY SOCKS

The Hooligan brothers’ go-cart race takes an unexpected turn when a sock-eating, foul-smelling, giant purple alien enlists their help completing his extraterrestrial merit badges.

Henry, Hank, and Hector Hooligan spend the summer building a go-cart to race school bully Rock Rubenstein down Deadman’s Hill. If they win, Rock agrees to stop his constant pranking for a year. If they lose, the Hooligan brothers agree to prank for him. But the sudden appearance of an alien on the course sends the Hooligan brothers off the road and into a world of trouble. The boys decide to investigate the creature and end up leading it back home. The alien rescues a girl from a burning house, prompting all of the neighbors to agree to hide him. But when interstellar animal control shows up, it is up to the brothers to save their new friend. Corny jokes, constant banter, and high jinks abound. While the humor is squeaky-clean and the Hooligan brothers have good hearts, the repetitive jokes, flat story, and too-familiar premise quickly grow stale. Other than the giant purple alien, the entire main cast appears to be white. Line drawings adorn most pages.

Proof that there is such a thing as too silly.