The Werewolf Club Meets the Hound of the Basketballs (Werewolf Club Ready for Chapters) [Hardcover]

Daniel Pinkwater (Author), Jill Pinkwater (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001 | Series: Werewolf Club Ready for Chapters (Book 4)

Even a child who is pure of heart
And does his homework neatly
May become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms
And the moon is full completely

What's small and round and smells like knackwurst, and is very, very scary? The Werewolf Club is about to find out! After a stop at the Local Yokel Diner to eat jitterbugs (you don't want to know), the young werewolves are off to Basketball Hall, the ancestral home of their teacher Mr. Talbot's uncle, Hugo Basketball. Generations of Basketballs have been cursed by their servants, the peculiar Barrymores, (it's so hard to get good help) not to mention by the monstrous Hound of the Basketballs.

Who better to vanquish the frightful hound, Hugo figures, than a pack of werewolves? So, with the moon full (and their bellies full of knackwurst and sauerkraut), our intrepid heroes are once again risking their young lives to rid the world of evil.

But what about the haunted pastrami?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grades 2-4--A disappointing story from two authors usually noted for their funny, creative writing. Mr. Talbot, a teacher and Werewolf Club adviser, takes the group on a field trip to Basketball Hall, the ancestral home of his uncle, Hugo Basketball. There they meet the Barrymores, the servants. Hugo hopes that the young werewolves can get rid of the monstrous Hound of the Basketballs that has plagued his family for generations. The "hound" turns out to be just a small, fat dog that the Barrymores have made gassy and frightening by feeding it knackwurst and sauerkraut-just to annoy the Basketballs. The main action here is eating knackwurst. There is little or no suspense or mystery. And there is no sports/basketball connection except for the name of the family. E. W. Hildick's and Patricia Reilly Giff's easy-to-read, humorous mysteries are much better choices.

Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Daniel Pinkwater, probably the funniest man in North America and definitely the funniest commentator on National Public Radio, has written many books for adults and children. Have you read The Hoboken Chicken Emergency? He wrote that. Have you read the play Hamlet? He didn't write that. Jill Pinkwater, probably the most incredible woman in North America, has written and illustrated many books for children. She lives with the author in Hyde Park, New York, and she doesn't seem to mind.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689845758
• ISBN-13: 978-0689845758
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,031,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Daniel Pinkwater lives with his wife, the illustrator and novelist Jill Pinkwater, and several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse in New York's Hudson River Valley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't be dissuaded by the dismissive School Library Journal review above, July 2, 2011

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Pop Bop (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Werewolf Club Meets the Hound of the Basketballs (Werewolf Club Ready for Chapters) (Hardcover)

Well, excuuuuse me School Library Journal. Any book that features Local W. Yokel, owner and proprietor of the Local Yokel Diner, can't be all bad, or even mostly bad. If you have never tried these books, it's probably best to start with #1, ("The Magic Pretzel"), or #2, ("The Lunchroom of Doom", and our favorite). If you know the series, then you're just happy there's another one.