The Celery Stalks at Midnight

The Celery Stalks at Midnight

James Howe
Illustrated by Leslie Morrill
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 1983

From the dust jacket, “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 questions: 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.”

Well, now you know the story – but do you, really? This book was so funny – laugh out loud funny – the antics the three pets get up to and what happens to them and the disaster they create – all because of a ‘vampire’ bunny! The story moves along at a fast pace – with lots of suspense and questions about what evil lurks in the hearts of vegetables! Older kittens will love to read the book – its’ fun, a little scary and leaves you wondering about all those white veggies. Chester is written perfectly as an alarmist cat with droll comments and barbs; Howie is a bouncy, happy-go-lucky puppy who thinks Chester is his father; and Harold, the wise old dog with the knowing patience of a loving grandfather. They try very hard to rescue Bunnicula but end up needing to be rescued themselves. It’s a good thing their humans love them so much!!!!

Rating 4 out of 5 paws because who knew a smart aleck cat could get along so well with a couple of dogs!!!

PeggySue