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Secrets of Dripping Fang #5
The Shluffmuffin Boy Is History
After the gang got a little pyromaniacal at the Mandibles' place, nothing's as it should be. Wally has suddenly turned into an eternal optimist, Vampire Dad wants to give the twins up for adoption, and Cheyenne has been acting awfully, well, hypnotized lately. Meanwhile, everyone in downtown Cincinnati is snotting and snuffling from a mysterious and deadly flu virus--and the ont larvae are quietly gaining strength underground.
Luckily, a suspicious stranger with a syringe shows up to give Wally a free "vaccination." (Now, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with that picture, could there?)
Luckily, a suspicious stranger with a syringe shows up to give Wally a free "vaccination." (Now, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with that picture, could there?)
176 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Dan Greenburg
163 books75 followersDAN GREENBURG BIO
BOOKS:
Dan's 73 books have been published in 24 countries.
His adult best-sellers include EXES, LOVE KILLS, HOW TO BE A JEWISH MOTHER, HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE, and HOW TO AVOID LOVE AND MARRIAGE. How to be a Jewish Mother sold several million copies. It and How to Make Yourself Miserable were in print for 30 years and were on Publishers Weekly’s list of all-time bestsellers.
Amazon will publish Dan’s third psychological thriller, FEAR ITSELF, in January 2014. They’ll also republish his first two thrillers, EXES and LOVE KILLS.
He’s written four series of children's books: THE ZACK FILES, SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG, WEIRD PLANET, and MAXIMUM BOY. The Zack Files sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into 20 languages, and generated an Emmy-winning 52-episode TV series that ran on Showtime and Fox Family.
ADVENTURES:
Dan has written extensively about his adventures:
Riding with NYPD homicide detectives for two years to research thrillers FEAR ITSELF, EXES, and LOVE KILLS.
Interviewing murderers alone in their maximum security prison cells for FEAR ITSELF.
Attending autopsies in the NYC morgue for EXES.
Learning how to discipline tigers and lions on a Texas tiger ranch.
Swimming with 80,000 lb. humpback whales in the deep ocean.
Flying upside down with a stunt pilot in an open-cockpit biplane.
Participating in dangerous voodoo rites in Haiti.
Riding with NYC firemen for four months and following them into burning buildings.
Searching for the Loch Ness Monster.
Assisting exorcists in a Connecticut house attacked by poltergeists.
Acting a major character role in a Western movie filmed in Spain.
Doing stand-up comedy at the New York Improv, and on TV talk shows.
Getting screamed at by Orson Welles on the set of Catch-22 in Mexico.
MAGAZINES:
Dan’s articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Time, Life, Newsweek, Ms., Playboy, and have been reprinted in 44 humor anthologies in the U.S. and England.
MOVIES AND TV:
Dan has had six of his feature films produced, two of which are on Variety’s list of top grossing films.
THEATER:
Along with Jules Feiffer, John Lennon and Samuel Beckett, Dan was a contributor to Oh! Calcutta!, which ran on Broadway for 21 years. He was also a contributor to Free to be You and Me, which ran off and on Broadway for years.
MISC.:
Dan has appeared on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Larry King Live, and Late Night with David Letterman. He grew up in Chicago, got his BFA from the University of Illinois, and his MFA from UCLA. He lives in Westchester, NY and British Columbia with his author wife Judith Greenburg and many cats.
dan@dangreenburg.com
BOOKS:
Dan's 73 books have been published in 24 countries.
His adult best-sellers include EXES, LOVE KILLS, HOW TO BE A JEWISH MOTHER, HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF MISERABLE, and HOW TO AVOID LOVE AND MARRIAGE. How to be a Jewish Mother sold several million copies. It and How to Make Yourself Miserable were in print for 30 years and were on Publishers Weekly’s list of all-time bestsellers.
Amazon will publish Dan’s third psychological thriller, FEAR ITSELF, in January 2014. They’ll also republish his first two thrillers, EXES and LOVE KILLS.
He’s written four series of children's books: THE ZACK FILES, SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG, WEIRD PLANET, and MAXIMUM BOY. The Zack Files sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into 20 languages, and generated an Emmy-winning 52-episode TV series that ran on Showtime and Fox Family.
ADVENTURES:
Dan has written extensively about his adventures:
Riding with NYPD homicide detectives for two years to research thrillers FEAR ITSELF, EXES, and LOVE KILLS.
Interviewing murderers alone in their maximum security prison cells for FEAR ITSELF.
Attending autopsies in the NYC morgue for EXES.
Learning how to discipline tigers and lions on a Texas tiger ranch.
Swimming with 80,000 lb. humpback whales in the deep ocean.
Flying upside down with a stunt pilot in an open-cockpit biplane.
Participating in dangerous voodoo rites in Haiti.
Riding with NYC firemen for four months and following them into burning buildings.
Searching for the Loch Ness Monster.
Assisting exorcists in a Connecticut house attacked by poltergeists.
Acting a major character role in a Western movie filmed in Spain.
Doing stand-up comedy at the New York Improv, and on TV talk shows.
Getting screamed at by Orson Welles on the set of Catch-22 in Mexico.
MAGAZINES:
Dan’s articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Time, Life, Newsweek, Ms., Playboy, and have been reprinted in 44 humor anthologies in the U.S. and England.
MOVIES AND TV:
Dan has had six of his feature films produced, two of which are on Variety’s list of top grossing films.
THEATER:
Along with Jules Feiffer, John Lennon and Samuel Beckett, Dan was a contributor to Oh! Calcutta!, which ran on Broadway for 21 years. He was also a contributor to Free to be You and Me, which ran off and on Broadway for years.
MISC.:
Dan has appeared on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Larry King Live, and Late Night with David Letterman. He grew up in Chicago, got his BFA from the University of Illinois, and his MFA from UCLA. He lives in Westchester, NY and British Columbia with his author wife Judith Greenburg and many cats.
dan@dangreenburg.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 13, 2020
This was another great title in the series. The character development was good and the plot was compelling. The action moved at a break-neck pace, at least in the second half of the book. I highly recommend this series.
April 7, 2010
Now that Wally Shluffmuffin has helped (accidentally, of course) kill Dagmar Mandible and hundreds of ant babies, he is a marked man - the Ont Queen wants him killed. In order to do this Hedy Mandible commissions an assassin known as The Jackal to kill him. Unaware of all this, the usually pessimistic Wally has decided to become an optimist, even though he is concerned because his twin sister Cheyenne has been acting oddly. As if that wasn't enough, when Cheyenne becomes very sick, Vampire Dad makes a bargain that will give the twins to the Spydelle's if she recovers. Now he's not so sure he wants to fulfill his part of the bargain and Wally and Cheyenne aren't sure they want him to either. Who will Wally and Cheyenne end up living with? Will The Jackal succeed in killing Wally? Why is Cheyenne acting so oddly and going into the woods late at night? Why does everyone in Cincinnati have the flu?
"The Shluffmuffin Boy is History" is the fifth book in Dan Greenburg's Secrets of Dripping Fang series and it is as enjoyable and fun to read as the other books in the series. While the series is aimed for ages 8 - 12, readers of all ages will enjoy the book. Kids will love things like having a vampire for a dad, the concept of giant ants taking over the world, a troll doctor, giant spiders, gnomes, wolves, and slugs. Adults will appreciate the humor that children may not quite get - the hired assassin, The Jackal, is in fact a real jackal and the scene where Hedy hires him is hilarious; the ease in which Vampire Dad buys a gun; trolls as doctors and store clerks; and Vampire Dad trying to call 911, as well as the chapter titles. While there are some suspenseful moments, some seemingly involving death, none of the elements are too scary for children as the vampires, trolls, wolves, etc. are all played for laughs. Scott Fischer's wonderful illustrations also add much to the humor in the book. Since this is part of an ongoing series, the book doesn't wrap everything up. The teaser for the sixth book in the series, "Attack of the Giant Octopus" is also very funny.
"The Shluffmuffin Boy is History" is fun reading for young and old alike.
"The Shluffmuffin Boy is History" is the fifth book in Dan Greenburg's Secrets of Dripping Fang series and it is as enjoyable and fun to read as the other books in the series. While the series is aimed for ages 8 - 12, readers of all ages will enjoy the book. Kids will love things like having a vampire for a dad, the concept of giant ants taking over the world, a troll doctor, giant spiders, gnomes, wolves, and slugs. Adults will appreciate the humor that children may not quite get - the hired assassin, The Jackal, is in fact a real jackal and the scene where Hedy hires him is hilarious; the ease in which Vampire Dad buys a gun; trolls as doctors and store clerks; and Vampire Dad trying to call 911, as well as the chapter titles. While there are some suspenseful moments, some seemingly involving death, none of the elements are too scary for children as the vampires, trolls, wolves, etc. are all played for laughs. Scott Fischer's wonderful illustrations also add much to the humor in the book. Since this is part of an ongoing series, the book doesn't wrap everything up. The teaser for the sixth book in the series, "Attack of the Giant Octopus" is also very funny.
"The Shluffmuffin Boy is History" is fun reading for young and old alike.
January 25, 2012
Another intriguing journey on our way through the Dripping Fang series. The Onts hire an assassin to kill Wally, and Cheyenne is still under the effects of the hypnosis. And of course Vampire Dad is all in suicidal mode because he thinks his kids don't love him.
September 16, 2008
This is the funniest book I have read in history!
Action packed with a tang of anger and laughter!
READ IT!
Action packed with a tang of anger and laughter!
READ IT!
October 2, 2013
This book was pretty good but just like the last 4 books in the series the are pretty weird.
May 20, 2016
Cool book
August 2, 2016
Review by A.H.: "I liked the action and the plot."
May 20, 2016
This book is a good not bad
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews