The Stupids Take Off

Allard and Marshall are more than ever in tune with their Stupid characters. Using their plane, the loopy family take off on an early vacation to escape a visit from boring Uncle Carbuncle. Piloted by faithful feline Xylophone and accompanied by dogmatic hound Kitty, they drop in unannounced on sundry Stupid relations. Among those readers meet are Little Patty, who celebrates her sixth birthday with eight candles on her cake; Uncle Artichoke, who has an impressive diving board (no swimming pool) in his back yard; and Farmer Joe, whose pencil crop is not doing so well. Safely back home, the Stupids don their old-fashioned diving equipment and go to bed. This is in the same format as the other wonderful Stupid books: simple text on left-hand page, colorful cartoony illustration on the right. Recommended for all those who appreciate the deep belly laugh that bypasses all logical explanation. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)