Revisiting the scene of their greatest success, Return to Howliday Inn does a fair job of invoking that faux-fearful atmosphere, but, again, it's all too rushed.This is the last of the five Bunnicula books I wanted to reread, and having them all in paperback and next to each other it's obvious that the first Howliday Inn is twice as long as the other books. Bunnicula can be excused as a first attempt, but it was clear to me as a kid and even more so now, that Howliday Inn as the most developed was the best book of the lot. Why did he cut himself so short in the three books that followed? All I can think of is market reasons. The Bunnicula books are meant for a young audience, so maybe editors encouraged brevity so as not to discourage newly-confident chapter book readers from the series. Which is pretty insulting and, in my opinion, damaged the books, which are choppy and abrupt. But they did sell millions of copies...stupid marketing strategies.Oh well, moving on, this one has some fun characters, particularly a pair of tough feline molls named Felony and Miss Demeanor, along with an upbeat but insecure weasel and the lugubrious Great Dane, Hamlet. There's a surprise reappearance of another character from the previous Howliday Inn as well. This one had a pretty good murder mystery, body included, going for it too, which was pretty clever. If only it had been allowed time/pages to develop itself. As it was, shit hit the fan almost as soon as they arrived, depriving most of the fun of a good mystery: the atmosphere, the suspense.
Fifth in the Bunnicula children’s series, Return to Howliday Inn sees Chester, Howard, and Howie back to Chateau Bow-wow when the Monroes take a vacation. It’s a paranormal experience for the three pets when bones talk, disembodied voices speak, and mysteries require solving. What is the dread secret that threatens them all? Why hasn’t Hamlet’s Archie returned for him yet? What happened to Rosebud? And what is this breakfast of paste-and-kitty-litter-pudding? It’s gruel and unusual punishment is what it is!The primary characters in the series include Chester, the cat, who reads too much---which helps when he leaps to conclusions---and constantly building Mount Everest out of molehills while Howie, the young dachshund, is too cute and gullible for words. Then there’s the voice of reason, Harold, who is more interested in his food dish or a nice nap. Bunnicula is on his own vacation in this story staying with Pete’s friend, Kyle.A fun read, especially with all the punny bits; I do love Howe’s characterization of animals but not one of my favorites in any of Howe’s series.
What do You think about Return To Howliday Inn (2000)?
This book is somewhat different from the other Bunnicula books - while the humor and creepiness are there as usual, there is also a lot of heart in this book. The latter third of the book was surprisingly touching, cementing this books place as one of the best Bunnicula books.It also breaks the formula in other ways. For starters, Chester is no longer the crazy one coming up with outlandish theories - all of the animals wholeheartedly believe in the paranormal around them. The animals also behave with a far greater degree of autonomy here, just breaking out of the hotel and traveling to the next town at night.The new characters are as delightful as the old ones. And as a final bonus, we get to meet Georgette again! In conclusion, a thoroughly satisfying book.
—hpboy13
I don't remember reading this book as a child, so it doesn't have that nostalgic overlay to help me understand where it fits from a child development standpoint.It is, like many children's books, anthropomorphic; the main characters are pets. This is a light mystery-thriller-cum-sob-story. It is set at a kennel, while the main pets' family is on vacation. They meet a collection of other pets, among them an arthritic Great Dane who has been abandoned by his family.Then, mysterious things start to
—Leslie
bunnicula was going somewhere and his friends were going to howliday inn.They were lucky in there first thing that happened and still in the end.Auryn 8yo
—Twyla
