THE MEGAMOGS AND THE DANGEROUS DOUGHNUT
by Peter Haswell & illustrated by Peter Haswell
When the dastardly McDunk tries to steal customers from Miss Marbletop's doughnut shop, a band of hapless helpers in the form of cats called Megamogs rush to the rescue. Kevin Catflap, captain of the crew, rallies the boisterous Megamogs with a series of attempts to drive out McDunk, pronounced a skunk and a punk for setting up nearby competition for dainty doughnuts with so-called deadly ones. A showdown ensues to see who will control the town's doughnut market. McDunk, the not-so-villainous entrepreneur, spits out the challenge: ``We'll meet tomorrow. Doughnuts at dawn. And the devil take the hindmost!'' Relying more on might than right, Haswell (Captain Prue and Her Scurvy Crew, p. 295, etc.) forges an ending with a bigger-is-better message. The text is filled with Briticisms and bad puns; overworked wordplay and alliteration exhaust the storyline; the visually appealing Megamogs are cemented into a text that is fairly riddled with cleverness. (Picture book. 4-8)