Curse of the Were-wiener

Starred review from July 15, 2010

School lunch bites—literally—in the third impossibly droll escapade featuring dragonling Danny Dragonbreath and his peace-loving iguana buddy, Wendell. When Wendell and other students at Herpitax-Phibbias School For Reptiles and Amphibians are nipped by a strangely colored hot dog, Danny finds himself in a race against time to find and take out the Alpha-Wurst in a package of feral were-wieners before his friend and schoolmates are transformed into mindless minions. Dishing out most of the many punchlines and wisecracks in thick-lined red-and-green cartoons, Vernon crafts a mixed-format escapade that sends Danny and Wendell on a Journey through dark storm drains (cue a Joseph Campbell joke from Wendell; "Who?" asks Danny) to enlist the aid of an escaped sentient potato salad that likewise came out of the school kitchen—because "everybody knows that potato salad and hot dogs are ancient enemies"—and on to a gory (okay, ketchup-y) climax in the lunchroom fridge. What next? Would you believe....a Bat Monster? Stay tuned. (Graphic hybrid fantasy. 8-11) 

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October 15, 2010
Grades 3-5 In this third Dragonbreath adventure, Danny first realizes theres something wrong with his school cafeteria hot dog, and then the hot dog bites his best friend, Wendell. When Wendell and other students start itching, growing hair, and staring at the moon, Danny knows he has to find and destroy the main were-wiener. This time around, Vernon uses black, white, green, and red in the comic-like panels and illustrations that accompany the prose text. The book is just spooky enough for young readers who dont want to get too scared, and it features the return of the monster potato salad.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)