Books in Bunnicula and Friends series

The Amazing Karlovsky is coming to town, and Chester the cat is nervous. Everyone knows that magicians pull rabbits out of hats -- suppose they're vampire rabbits, like Bunnicula? Soon there could be hundreds of vampire bunnies on the loose! Chester springs into action and, with Harold and Howie in tow, is off to save the vegetables of the world -- and to turn the Amazing Karlovsky's performance into something no one will ever forget.

A creepy-crawly surprise! Harold the dog, Chester the cat, and Howie the dachshund puppy are excited for Toby's birthday. Because birthdays mean parties, and parties mean presents. And best of all -- cake. But when the pets find seven suitcases in the room with all of the gifts, they start to worry. What could be inside? Why are there holes in them? And are they...moving? This is one birthday present that Bunnicula fans will be eager to open!

First there is the omen: A relentless rain stops suddenly at 3:00 am and Chester shows Harold and Howie a cat carrier, open and waiting, by the front door. Chester, who has been reading avidly about the paranormal, predicts that they will soon be traveling someplace, and chances are they are not going to like it. Indeed they are not, as the very next day, with the sun shining bright and clear, the Monroes finally leave for their vacation, dropping Chester, Harold, and Howie off at the scene of some previous harrowing experiences -- Chateau Bow-Wow, the boarding kennel that Chester so aptly had dubbed "Howliday Inn." And this visit promises to be no less harrowing than the last one. The three are greeted by a whole new group of temporary residents. There's Hamlet, the Great Dane, whose sadness grows deeper with his certainty that his beloved master Archie will never return to pick him up. And Bob and Linda, a pair of yuppie puppies from fashionable Upper Centerville who have been left at Chateau Bow-Wow with a more than adequate supply of gourmet treats, also seem to have been left with a more than adequate supply of worries. Then there are Felony and Miss Demeanor, sinister sisters in crime who pride themselves as cat burglars, and The Weasel who tries almost too hard to make a good impression. Chester is certain that nothing bodes well and he is right. Unexplained voices, buried bones, a collar with the name Rosebud on it, and a secret code all make for a paranormal experience that none of the guests at Chateau Bow-Wow will ever forget.

One dark and stormy night, the Monroes bring home a new pet: a little black-and-white rabbit. Because the Monroes found him at a Dracula movie, they name the rabbit Bunnicula. Harold the dog thinks Bunnicula is just a cute little bunny. But Chester the cat is worried. Bunnicula sleeps all day and wakes up at night. And Bunnicula doesn't have little bunny teeth -- he has fangs. Is Bunnicula really just a harmless little bunny? Or is he something much, much more scary?

Harold and Chester could hardly believe it. The Monroe family was going on vacation without them. Bunnicula, the family rabbit, would be boarded with a neighbor. But they, the family's loyal dog and cat, were to be sent away with strangers; they were to spend a week at Chateau Bow-Wow. Chateau Bow-Wow, observed Chester, soon after they arrived, could more properly be called Howliday Inn. Though what was howling, neither of them knew. Chester had his suspicions however; only a werewolf could make that chilling sound.

An overnight camping trip! Not Harold's idea of fun. Too many mosquitoes, ticks and cockleburs. But when the Monroe family set out, their faithful dog Harold was with them, mostly because he remembered that camping could also bring s'mores and toasted marshmallows. Howie, the other family dog, and Chester the cat were also included in the trip. Only Chester thought the idea was completely insane. The woods, he informed Harold, were not only full of cockleburs and ticks, but of spirits, evil spirits who prey on the innocent. And on this, the worst night of the year -- St. George's Eve, when all spirits are set loose -- who knew what could happen. What Harold knew was that Chester was a well read, over-stimulated cat, full of weird ideas. He did not take Chester's worries too seriously. He had s'more to think about. But then, the Monroes set up camp near two strange men and their even stranger dog, and things began to happen that made even Harold wonder. Could Chester be right? This begins a long night, full of terrors and alarms, full of Chester's horrifying tale of how Bunnicula, the vampire bunny, was born and came to America, full of storms and a total sense of danger; and at the end came surprises that even Chester could not have predicted. Once again, the Monroe family may be the victims of evil forces or only of Chester's strange imagination. But whichever, the result is suspenseful and very, very funny.

CHESTER, the cat, Harold, the dog, Bunnicula, the vampire (?) rabbit, and Howie, the wirehaired dachshund puppy, return in this sequel to Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery and Howliday Inn to ask the question: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of lettuce? Chester has just finished retelling the tale of Bunnicula to Howie, who has just joined the Monroe family, when he discovers that Bunnicula is missing from his cage. Chester stays up all night worrying. What becomes of the vegetables Bunnicula attacks (for he is after all a vegetarian vampire)? Do they become vampire veggies serving their master's evil ways? Certain that the town is crawling with killer parsnips and homicidal heads of lettuce, Chester sets out with Harold and Howie and a box of toothpicks for spearing the little devils through the heart. En route to finding Bunnicula, driving tiny stakes through whatever white vegetables lie in their paths and thereby saving the town of Centerville, the threesome have more than their share of adventures, including an encounter with an ill-tempered white cat named Snowball and an unexpected trip to the town dump. Finally the strange actions of everyone in town, including Toby and Pete Monroe, convince Chester that he may be too late, that Bunnicula and his minion vegetables may have taken over the town. Chester and his merry band race to save what souls they can. But, of course, Chester has been known to be wrong before.

The Monroe house is going mad with excitement. Pete has just won a contest, and the prize is a school visit from none other than M. T. Graves, Pete's idol and the bestselling author of the FleshCrawlers series. He's even going to stay with the Monroes while he's visiting! Harold and Howie are thrilled, but Chester the cat is suspicious. Why does Graves dress all in black? Why doesn't the beady-eyed crow perched on his shoulder say anything? Why has a threatening flock of crows invaded the backyard? And most worrisome of all: In each of the FleshCrawlers books, why does something bad always happen to the pets? Suddenly, Graves's interest in all of the animals -- especially Bunnicula -- looks far from innocent. It's up to Chester, Harold, and Howie to find out if M. T. Graves and Edgar Allan Crow are really devising a plot to make their beloved bunny. . . NEVERMORE.

"Let's just say the matter is under control," Chester slyly tells his pals Harold and Howie. But what on earth does he mean? It seems that Bunnicula, the vampire rabbit, is back to his old ways -- or so Chester thinks, having found pale vegetables drained of their juices scattered about the Monroe family kitchen. And now, once and for all, Chester is determined to save the world from this threat. But why has Bunnicula -- so frisky just a short time ago -- been so listless and tired of late? Is this part of Chester's scheme? Can Harold let Chester get away with hurting an innocent bunny, no matter what his harebrained suspicions are? It is not long before the Monroes notice Bunnicula's condition and rush him to the vet, and then the chase is on, ending up with a dramatic confrontation in a most unusual (and dangerous!) location.