Customer Reviews

Secrets of Dripping Fang, Book One: The Onts

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have an 8 year old son (soon to be 9) in 4th grade who, before this book, absolutely hated to read! I had to make him read aloud to me in order to make sure he read anything. He read this book silently in its entirety and was excited enough about it to stop periodically and demand I listen to him explain the story! I've already pre-ordered the next 3 books in this series.

I teach Reading to 6th graders. Received two copies of this book from a friend and thought I would read the first few chapters to my students on Halloween. The were so interested in it that the next day they begged me to read more!! How could I say no?? Several went online that night and bought their own copies and pre-ordered Greenberg's second book in this series. Meanwhile, I have a waiting list of students wanting to check out one of the two classroom copies to see what becomes of Wally and Cheyenne. They just can't get enough. I love their enthusiasm, and like them, can't wait for Book Two.

Dan Greenburg has hit on a series of books that children between 8 and 12 will absolutely love. It has all things creepy, scary and funny that kids will read as fast as they can and ask for the next installment.

The Shluffmuffin twins, Wally (who has awfully stinky feet) and Cheyenne (who has allergies and constantly sneezes) are orphans. They lost their father when he fell through the seat of a Porta Potti and drowned. The following day, their mother was smothered by a gang of angry bunnies at a petting zoo. Then 98-year-old Grandma Gloria was carried off by a nearsighted eagle. He mistook her for a racoon. There were no other family members to care for them so off they went to The Jolly Days Orphanage. It was not a good place to be.

The twins longed to be adopted but it didn't happen until the day the Mandible sisters brought them home for a week-long adoption trial. The sisters live in Dripping Fang Forest and seem to have extra arms. Things are pretty strange at the Mandible house and if Wally and Cheyenne aren't careful, they could end up at the wrong end of the food chain.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a book for kids that enjoy the scary things that lurk in the night and sometimes during the day, right where they live.

If your kids love the Lemony Snicket stories and the Goosebumps series, and snicker at gross-out stuff like boogers and stinky feet, then this one will be sure to get their attention.

The Shluffmuffin twins suddenly find themselves orphans after some rather unfortunate events overtake their parents and tiny grandmother, and are biding their time at the Jolly Days Orphanage until their adoption, living in up on gruel and bread crusts. Sadly, that day seems to be a long way off, as Cheyenne is a walking allergic reaction and Wally's foot odor can't be tamed.

Enter the Mandible sisters, who seem only too happy to take the twins, sneezy and stinky as they are, and whisk them off to their mansion in Dripping Fang Forest, where not even cab drivers dare to tread.

Of course, things are sometimes not as they seem, and in this case they're much worse. Although "The Onts" (never "aunts") provide everything to make a child happy, such as Cable TV, Nintendo and as much ice cream and cake as they can eat, Wally breaks the house rules and makes a discovery in the cellar that gives him goose bumps. Betrayed by Wally's wet (and stinky) sneakers, the twins have to choose between certain death at the mansion, or even more certain death outside in Dripping Fang Forest, where lurk talking wolves, ten-foot long foot-eating slugs that glow in the dark and other things too frightening to mention.

An easy short read (took me half an hour) and one that should encourage even stubborn readers to want to hurry on to the last pages.




Amanda Richards, June 19, 2006

This series is fantastic but the author has never finished it. It has been around three years since we read book eight. My son has been waiting to see what happens at the end but nothing. It may actually be four years now. Very cool series but if you want to start a series that has an ending this might not be it.

I got this audio book for my kids, and although we've listened to it 4 times together, I find myself listening to it on my own. The hidden humor and mischievous charm of this author is priceless... but you haven't had a taste of Dan Greenberg unless you've heard him read the story himself. It's clear that he's not just a writer but a storyteller and it raises this book to a whole new level. The deadpan presentation combined with the voices he uses and the timing has me rolling every time. It's ruined his books for me... I want the sequel, but it's not (yet) on audio. Get the audio book. Get the audio book. Get the audio book. If you're the type of person that stuggles to hold back a smile after finding your toddler hiding the magic marker behind his/her back, you need this. The wrong is worth the funny. Dan Greenburg is a gem to children and adults alike.

I bought this book for my 9-year old granddaughter, and she could not put the book down. She asked that I get for her the next book in the series, she loved it so much! This is an excellent choice for a good reader that is 9-10 years old.

The Dripping Fang series of books proved to be something my son read once and now twice all the way through. A chapter book that doesn't have to have pictures to hold his interest. He's 7 years old, going into the 3rd grade. He reads on a higher level and these books challenge reading comprehension without being boring because he doesn't understand what's going on. Wish there were more!

"Two orphans and a world of monsters await you--and even reluctant readers will enjoy this hilarious new series by the creator of the popular Zak Files books.

In Book One, nobody wants to adopt the Shluffmuffin twins. Wally's feet stink something awful and Cheyenne is allergic to everything--and then some. So why are the Mandible sisters so eager to take them home? And what sort of old maids would choose to live in a place called Dripping Fang Forest, where zombies and 10-foot-long slugs wander? Would it seem ungrateful of Wally to point out the Mandible sisters' extra arms? Or to venture into the cellar, where the twins have been told to NEVER, EVER, EVER go? Perhaps that last bit was a mistake. Now there's nothing left for the Shluffmuffins to do but run for their lives!" (summary from the publisher's website)

The Secrets of Dripping Fang: Book One: The Onts by Dan Greenberg
Meet cheerful Cheyenne and worrisome Wally, the ten-year-old Shluffmuffin twins. Ever since the back-to-back accidental deaths of their father, mother, and grandmother three years ago, they have lived at the less-than-lovely Jolly Days Orphanage of Cincinnati.

In spite of their kind personalities, they have yet to be adopted due to things they cannot change: Wally is plagued with stinky feet, and Cheyenne is allergic to pretty much everything. One day, two women come into Jolly Days looking for kids with these exact aliments. What luck for the twins!

Bad luck, that is, because their newfound almost-parents are not quite human . . .

This is a hilarious story that made me want to pick up the next book in the series immediately. The silly tale is supported by great black-and-white illustrations of the characters by Scott M. Fischer. Adults will easily see the twists coming, but that is half the fun here. Fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket or The Eddie Dickens Trilogy by Philip Ardagh are sure to be amused by Secrets of Dripping Fang.