Review by Kirkus Book Review
A spooky summer fueled by popsicle pancakes. Wendell, ironically nicknamed Waffles by his mom for his love of pancakes, shares the tale of a summer spent at his grandfather's house in Shriekport, Maine. Grandpa worked doing special effects on all kinds of horror movies back in the day, leading to a bond with his fanboy grandson. Waffles is helping Grandpa clean out his memorabilia-filled basement along with Tanya, a girl his age who is working to repay a window she broke. Beasties from Grandpa's movie career, including zombie squirrels; Glaarg, a rampaging giant lizard; and their ringleader, a vampire clown named Count Wackula, come to life and antagonize the three of them. A resurrected mummy who dubs himself Mummy Man and a turtle sidekick named Frank arrive to help. The story, propelled by one narrow, lighthearted escape from danger after another, has frequent illustrations as well as pop-up boxes with trivia about the movies Grandpa worked on. Mummy Man does most of the fighting, though Frank the turtle participates and even steals the show a number of times. The invented movie trivia and menagerie of horror-inspired creatures are the rewards for following Waffles and Tanya's wacky adventures; character development comes second to spectacle and humor. The human cast appears to be White. Final art not seen. A popcorn bucket of a book, full of flavor if not substance. (recipe, movie list) (Humor. 8-11) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
