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Written and illustrated (in stunning full color) by Lewis Trondheim, the hottest European cartooning talent to emerge in the 1990s, Harum Scarum mixes sardonic wit with a genuinely thrilling story that involves a plague of monsters, a fake paleontologist, a secret formula, the search for a perfect headline, and more! The second book, The Hoodoodad, continues in this farcical vein, mixing elements of Tintin and The Three Stooges in a way that will thrill children and adults alike.

YA McConey, who looks like a well-dressed pink rabbit, is the voice of reason and sagacity among his friends, the closest of whom is a superstitious and puerile alley cat garbed like a retro hood. Their adventures in the series opener, Harum Scarum, revolve around magic powders that can turn the city's population (all of whom are animals) into self-destructing monsters. In The Hoodoodad, a cursed stone is at the crux of the action. The beautifully colored drawings, which show a terrific range of facial expressions and architectural details, along with the anthropomorphic characters, belie the fact that McConey's adventures really are best suited to mature readers. High school-aged boys, especially, will enjoy the frank machismo informing many of the exploits and the realistically foul language of Richie, the alley cat. The depictions are never truly gruesome or carnal; even the shootouts in Harum Scarum are no more graphic than Saturday-morning cartoons. Both books will be popular additions to collections serving teens. Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 1999 School Library Journal Reviews