Bunnicula.

Do you remember the Bunnicula books? A friend of mine at work lent me the first three books in the new series, written by Howie (not the original dog, but a wirehaired daschund puppy). They have nothing to do with Bunnicula. Instead, they have everything to do with...writing.

Very cool. You get the story itself, interspersed with Howie's writing journal.

The books are illustrated by the same guy (Brett Helquist) that does the Series of Unfortunate Events, and written in the same style, but for younger readers. You gotta wonder. The author's name is James Howe...not Lemony Snickett, but there you go. I'd say they're books for readers about five to nine, skip fifteen years, and finally you have enough of a sense of humor to enjoy them again.

Wow. I just checked out the recommended reading level at Borders. 9-12. No waaaaaaaay. Maybe I just know too many smart kids.

The third book (haven't read yet) is supposed to be a parody of Harry Potter...Howie goes to Dogwiz academy...