School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-In this companion to In the Land of the Lawn Weenies (Tom Doherty, 2003), Lubar takes kids' wishes and fantasies and shows how they might go horribly-even fatally-wrong. Most of the protagonists in these 35 short-short tales think that they cannot be surprised, which makes their shock when they meet the unexplainable more fun, and creepier. Many of the selections are told with a sly, satirical humor. Although a few pieces fall flat, the chilling ones far outweigh them. What if you discovered, for example, that when you recorded over your dad's boring videotapes of a family vacation or a school play, those events suddenly had never occurred? And what if you accidentally erased the videotape of your mother giving birth to you? Oh oh. Not for the sensitive or easily frightened, this book is perfect to hand to youngsters who want something to read after they've finished all of Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" titles (HarperCollins).-Walter Minkel, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Invasion of the Road Weenies, David Lubar's second volume of weird and wacky tales on the heels of In the Land of Lawn Weenies, the author continues to send shivers up readers' spines by providing eerie answers to "what if" questions and creating surrealistic worlds where shocking ironies abound. Here he reveals the secret of Tommy Griffin, a boy who never speaks at school, and unveils the identity of the even more enigmatic Green Man, who has never actually been seen. In other stories, the author invents captivating explanations to such philosophical inquiries as "What is the purpose of those buttons no one uses on the remote control?" These yarns are sure to produce gasps and giggles. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In ""Shaping the Fog,"" three children discover they are made from fog and are just as impermanent. In ""Dizzy Spells,"" a boy wishes the world would stop spinning--and in an instant, it does. In ""Goose Eggs,"" Charlie learns--to his horror--exactly what hatches from his goose's golden eggs. These thirty-five macabre short-short stories are enjoyably eerie but not for the faint of heart. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Jeremy keeps hearing loud thuds in the night; he's sure something is living in his septic tank. Some drain cleaner quiets the noise but actually stinks up the house. When the plumber comes to pump the tank, Jeremy discovers there really is more than bacteria in the tank. Andrea learns there's a reason kindergartners are taught to line up straight; Eric learns that the dead won't hurt you unless you hurt them first. Wish fulfillment, just deserts and adults who don't listen are the frequent themes of these sometimes creepy, sometimes silly and sometimes lame stories. Lubar's second volume of Weenie vignettes is better than the first, but make no mistake, these stories feature no character development and often-nonsensical plots. That said, fans of the first will find this compulsively readable. Others looking for a light, quick read might enjoy them, too, as long as they don't invest too much thought in the whys and wherefores. A few offerings, including the first "Last Halloween," will even make fun read-alouds in dimly lit rooms. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. Lubar strikes again. As in his previous collection , In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales0 (2003), he delivers a series of funny, often surreal short stories. In one of the selections, a boy's trip with his dad and younger brother to Take Your Child to Work Day ends disastrously when some copy-machine pranks erase a face as well as another popular anatomical copy-machine subject. In the title story, a boy finds the chilling truth about the joggers who pass unsmilingly by his school bus every day. All of the stories are fun, bite-size reads that deliver plenty of punch in just a few pages. At the end of the book, Lubar tells how he came up with the idea for each of his tales. Another winning roundup, of particular interest to reluctant readers. --Todd Morning Copyright 2005 Booklist