MUK 'N' HONEY

Two animal friends battle hurt feelings as they prepare for the forest’s upcoming Invention Convention.

Things are off to a rocky start as Honey Bunny—who’s made of melting honey—oversleeps, but Muk Muk the moose rouses her by pulling the Emergency Bunny Wake-Up Lever. Conflict arises as the two disagree over which invention to enter in the convention: the Nut-o-Roombots vs. the Fort-a-Potty. Or maybe the Sweet-N-Sour-Smooth-E-Chomp-R? But Honey doesn’t listen to Muk Muk and bulldozes ahead. When a storm cancels the convention—and reduces all the inventions to rubble—a furious Honey Bunny vows revenge on Mother Nature: “She started this fight, but I will end it!” Attempting to rein in the maniacal Honey Bunny, Muk Muk encourages her to brainstorm, but she blows him off, and he works on his own inventions—all of which successively fail. Perhaps collaboration is just as crucial as creativity when it comes to inventions? Bean’s artwork evokes old-time Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and the string of improbable Rube Goldberg–esque devices and resulting mishaps keeps interest high. The social message—more prominent than in the first book—adds a bit more gravitas, but there’s plenty of goofiness here, too; Muk Muk’s spiel in defense of the Fort-a-Potty, reminiscent of infomercials, is especially charming.

The forecast is promising for this latest in this absurdly funny series.