May 1, 2024
Fetid odors and big footprints touch off both fart jokes and a monster hunt in ever-chaotic Grimwood. Wiser heads counsel patience, but because most of the forest's animal residents are ever eager to believe (and spread) wild rumors, the level of hysteria rises precipitately--particularly since a long-anticipated treebonk match between the helmeted squirrels of Grimwood and neighboring Twinklenuts may be threatened. As it turns out, the odors and outsized prints have simple explanations. The mysterious visitor isn't Bigfoot, as widely supposed, but Rufus, the older brother whom foxes Nancy and Ted (more recent Big City arrivals) never knew they had. The visitor, newly returned from a long, involuntary sea voyage, explains what happened to their parents and apologizes for staying away so long. Following her practice with previous entries, Shireen smears the pages with ink stains and fingerprints to make the many cartoon illustrations look even more raffish. She also tweaks readers' expectations that this might be a safe, bland forest romp with a festive wedding between two mice (significantly named Romeo and Juliet) that comes to a sudden end with the arrival of Pamela the eagle ("A bird's got to eat," as she says). At least the treebonk match comes off more or less as planned, and by the end, the fox family is a little closer to a long-overdue reunion. A welcome return to this rollicking forest community. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)
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