Tales from the House of Bunnicula

Series · 6 books · 2002-2013

By James Howe

Books in series

It Came from Beneath the Bed!

2013

Dear possible reader of this book, I want to be a writer, just like my uncle Harold, who wrote a bunch of books about our friend Bunnicula. So I wrote this story. And boy! Did I ever get into trouble! My friend Delilah stopped speaking to me because I put her in my book. Uncle Harold stopped speaking to me because I didn't put him in my book. A writer's life isn't easy! But back to my story: It's about how a talented and lovable (not to mention smart) wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie saves the world from a disgusting, evil menace named...oops, that would give away the story. But trust me, this menace is disgusting and evil, all right!!! Your friend, Howie

Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6!

2013

Dear possible reader of this book, After I wrote my first book, It Came from Beneath the Bed!, my editor asked me to write another one. (Another one! This is hard work! I'd like to see him write another one!) So anyway...in this book the lovable and smart (not to mention talented) wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie and his friend, the beautiful and brilliant Delilah, face their biggest challenge the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6! ™ Along the way Delilah gets turned into a squirrel and has to beg for acorns. (Hey, don't ask me! Read the book!) Your friend, Howie

Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom

2002

Dear possible reader of this book, My editor asked me to write a third book in my series, Tales from the House of Bunnicula. And did I have trouble getting started! I was afraid I used up all my ideas. But faster than a writer can say "What if?" I came up with a story! It's about a lovable and smart (not to mention cute) orphan wirehaired dachshund puppy named Howie, who has a mysterious pain in his leg and is mysteriously invited to attend the Dogwiz Academy for Canine Conjurers. Together, Howie and his best friend, the very, very, very smart Delilah, who speaks in a British accent in this book for some reason, discover they must fight a sinister foe...The-Evil-Force-Whose-Nam-C'not-Be-Spoke!!! Your friend, Howie

Screaming Mummies of the Pharaoh's Tomb II

2013

Dear possible reader of this book, I wasn't sure I'd be able to write a book ever again after Canine Quarterly reviewed my series, Tales from the House of Bunnicula . They said I would never win the Newbony Award. Was I depressed! And I didn't even know what a Newbony was! Luckily Delilah's read a lot of Newbony books, so she helped me write this one. It's about a poor (but very cute) orphan dachshund puppy named Howie Monroe, who lives on the prairie and yearns for a chicken bone. (I know. Trust me.) Things really get exciting when Howie and his best friend, the smart and well-read Delilah, find a time machine and travel back to ancient Egypt where they uncover...the mystery of the Pharaoh's tomb!!! Your friend, Howie

Bud Barkin, Private Eye

2003

Dear Reader, The guy who usually writes these letters asked me to do it instead. Maybe he was having a bad writing day. Maybe he wanted me to play the sap for him. Or maybe he ran into Trouble with a capital T. Well, Trouble's in my business. I'm a dog. I'm a detective. The name's Bud Barkin. And this book is about the case I had involving a dame named Delilah Gorbish, whom I would call Trouble with a capital T except I've used that metaphor already, and the clown named Crusty Carmady whose calling card is a teakettle that he heaves through windows. Nice pair of birds. The mystery deepens with another character called the Big Fish, who isn't really a fish and who's addicted to the Home Shopping Network. Hey, I don't write 'em—I just solve 'em. Yours truly, Bud Barkin, P.E.

The Odorous Adventures of Stinky Dog

2013

Dear possible reader of this book, What's faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a pound of Gorgonzola cheese? It's Stinky Dog, the hero of my new book. By a stroke of fate (or is it destiny?) the lovable (not to mention cute) Howie Monroe is transformed into Stinky Dog, protector of the innocent. (Don't worry, he's still lovable.) (Not to mention cute.) The secret of Stinky Dog's power is Super Stench—an odor so strong it can bend steel! (Am I good or what?) Joined by a smart-mouthed sidekick, a sparrow named Little D, Stinky Dog tries to save Center City from villainous, low-life, miserable, rotten, wicked, kindergarten-scissors-stealing gangs who roam the streets, knocking down little old ladies and running off with their handbags! Your friend, Howie

Author

James Howe

Author · 69 books

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information. James Howe has written more than eighty books in the thirty-plus years he's been writing for young readers. It sometimes confuses people that the author of the humorous Bunnicula series also wrote the dark young adult novel, The Watcher, or such beginning reader series as Pinky and Rex and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels. But from the beginning of his career (which came about somewhat by accident after asking himself what kind of vampire a rabbit might make), he has been most interested in letting his imagination take him in whatever direction it cared to. So far, his imagination has led him to picture books, such as I Wish I Were a Butterfly and Brontorina (about a dinosaur who dreams of being a ballerina), mysteries, poetry (in the upcoming Addie on the Inside), and fiction that deals with issues that matter deeply to him. He is especially proud of The Misfits, which inspired national No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) and its sequel Totally Joe. He does not know where his imagination will take him in the next thirty-plus years, but he is looking forward to finding out. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.