Lenny the Lobster Can’t Stay for Dinner

With a dapper lobster in the leading role and a soupçon of dark humor, the collaboration of Buckley père et fils will delight omnivore foodie families and appall tender-hearted readers. Readers who’ve attended lobster dinners will know what’s coming when Lenny arrives breathlessly at the dinner party he’s been invited to and the hosts offer him two rubber band “bracelets.” “Why, thank you!” ever gracious Lenny says. “They match my hat beautifully!” When the guests reappear in bibs bearing Lenny’s image, a note appears at the bottom of the page: “HOLD ON! Are you getting a funny feeling about this party?” If readers don’t skip forward to the alternate ending, they’ll watch as a small girl named Imogen swoops in to save Lenny, dumping him back in the ocean, and as the determined crustacean makes his way back to the dinner party, where his eagerness to please lands him on a platter—a death made almost palatable by the graceful finesse of French cartoonist Meurisse. If they skip forward, Lenny survives to attend more dinner parties. Witty lines occur throughout, but the sight of the hero served for dinner may rattle the sensitive. Ages 4–7. [em](Apr.) [/em]