Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1689196 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-07
• Released on: 2003-01-07
• Formats: Audiobook, Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio Cassette

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-In these four how-to-write a story tales by James Howe, Howie, the Monroe family's lovable wire-haired daschund, is featured as an aspiring writer taking directions from his Uncle Harold, a published author. In It Came from Beneath the Bed (Atheneum, 2002), Howie is the hilarious daschund detective writing his own scary story interspersed between entries from his own writing journal about the frustrations of trying to be an author. In the second tale, Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6 (Atheneum, 2002), Howie writes about his friend Delilah who is being turned into a squirrel by aliens from another planet. In Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom (Atheneum, 2002), Howie leaves home to enter the Dogwiz Academy for Canine Conjurers, which becomes a clever parody of the Harry Potter stories. Finally, Howie and Delilah try their hand at co-authoring the tale, Screaming Mummies of the Pharaoh's Tomb II (Atheneum, 2003), as they aspire to win a much coveted Newbony Award. All four tales are interrupted periodically with Howie's writing journal detailing the advice he's getting from Uncle Harold on the writing process, which includes everything from how to use similes to ideas like artistic license. Most of the writing advice is right on target for beginning authors, especially the ongoing processing log which Howie keeps up in all four stories. Actor Joe Grifasi does a superb job reading these stories and getting all the voices of the characters just right. He makes listeners identify with Howie and his trials and tribulations as he sets off on the long and often difficult road to authorship. Youngsters will enjoy these stories, and teachers can use them as reinforcement for students learning the writing process.
Kristina Aaronson, Henniker Community School, NH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
What do you get when a dog tries to imitate his owner, who is an author? This set of four tales definitely has a dog-slant to it. Howie, the dachshund puppy, and his canine friends revel in mishap and bedlam as they solve cases and perform daring rescues. Joe Grifasi is simply hilarious. His high-pitched, slightly bragging tone sounds like that of a swaggering 10-year-old, the human equivalent of a mischievous puppy. Howie and friends will have listeners laughing out loud as they discover unrecognizable food items under the bed along with the dogs. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine