THE CUT-UPS

This is the first of cut-ups Spud Jenkins and Joe Turner, but it apparently won't be the last: at the book's close the neighborhood terrors are headed for school, where "little did they know" that their latest victim, kid-hating Lamar J. Spurgle, awaits them. Meanwhile, between scapegrace pranks (like tying Spud's little brother to a kite, turning the bathroom into a deep-sea tank), they meet up with their match, red-haired demon Mary Frances—possessor of a sports car and a rocket ship (the vehicle that gets them into trouble with Mr. Spurgle). But it's all mindless, aimless mayhem: sheer illustration of what devils kids can be.