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Secrets of Dripping Fang #4
Fall of the House of Mandible
Things seem pretty hopeless for the Shluffmuffin family in the fourth book in this hilarious series. The treacherous Mandible sisters have kidnapped Cheyenne again, and it's up to Wally to rescue her. And not only is their adoring dad a vampire, but lately he's taken up all sorts of offensive and unsavory activities like "volunteering" at a bloodmobile and licking strangers' bleeding wounds on buses. Gross!
Throw in thirty-six grubby orphans singing show tunes, a bizarre plot to overthrow the human race with a flu virus sprayed out of perfume bottles, and some deadly, chatty wolves, and things in Dripping Fang Forest couldn't get much more surreal.
But when Wally comes up with a brilliant SWAT team-style commando plan to get Cheyenne back, the Onts just may be defeated once and for all.
(Yeah, right . . .)
Throw in thirty-six grubby orphans singing show tunes, a bizarre plot to overthrow the human race with a flu virus sprayed out of perfume bottles, and some deadly, chatty wolves, and things in Dripping Fang Forest couldn't get much more surreal.
But when Wally comes up with a brilliant SWAT team-style commando plan to get Cheyenne back, the Onts just may be defeated once and for all.
(Yeah, right . . .)
160 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Dan Greenburg
162 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 24, 2018
This is a series but I do understand the current storyline. But it would be better if you guys read it from the first. But anyway it make total sense even if you don't read it from the first. And yeah I'm just babbling but this story is really good. The plot is amazing. The plot twist is absolutely amazing.
March 6, 2020
This title was full of suspense and great vocabulary. I highly recommend this series and can't wait to read the next book!
May 12, 2010
As "Fall of the House of Mandible" begins, Wally and Cheyenne Shluffmuffin are on the run from the Onts (Hedy and Dagmar Mandible) who are really giant ants who want to overthrow humans and control the world. Wally manages to get away but the Onts kidnap Cheyenne and Wally is determined to help her escape. He enlists the help of his vampire Dad, Professor Spydelle and his spider wife Shirley, and Hortense Jolly (owner of the Jolly Days Orphanage) as well as the thirty-six orphans she is eager to get rid of. This motley group of characters will try to rescue Cheyenne and stop the Onts from spreading a flu-like virus that can destroy humans.
Children ages nine and older will enjoy "Fall of the House of Mandible", the fourth book in Dan Greenburg's delightful "Secrets of Dripping Fang" series. It's a quick and easy read filled with quirky humor. The humor starts with the chapter titles; the title of the first chapter "The No Child Left Alive Program" is a good example of the humor throughout the book. Other funny moments include when Wally and Cheyenne try to tell someone they are being kidnapped and Wally says "we're also orphans, in case that makes us more sympathetic"; Hortense Jolly treating the orphans as if they were a product she is selling; Wally and Cheyenne's dad volunteering at a blood bank and getting "fired" from the volunteer job that he is doing for free; the Dripping Fang Forest and it's inhabitants; the Onts spraying a flu virus using a perfume bottle; and a song the orphans sing. While much of the book is humorous and meant to be fun, there are some scary moments (one involving a fire) that may scare younger readers. Since the book is part of a series, the end of the book is a cliffhanger.
Older children, especially Lemony Snicket fans, will enjoy "Fall of the House of Mandible" and all the books in the Secrets of Dripping Fang series.
Children ages nine and older will enjoy "Fall of the House of Mandible", the fourth book in Dan Greenburg's delightful "Secrets of Dripping Fang" series. It's a quick and easy read filled with quirky humor. The humor starts with the chapter titles; the title of the first chapter "The No Child Left Alive Program" is a good example of the humor throughout the book. Other funny moments include when Wally and Cheyenne try to tell someone they are being kidnapped and Wally says "we're also orphans, in case that makes us more sympathetic"; Hortense Jolly treating the orphans as if they were a product she is selling; Wally and Cheyenne's dad volunteering at a blood bank and getting "fired" from the volunteer job that he is doing for free; the Dripping Fang Forest and it's inhabitants; the Onts spraying a flu virus using a perfume bottle; and a song the orphans sing. While much of the book is humorous and meant to be fun, there are some scary moments (one involving a fire) that may scare younger readers. Since the book is part of a series, the end of the book is a cliffhanger.
Older children, especially Lemony Snicket fans, will enjoy "Fall of the House of Mandible" and all the books in the Secrets of Dripping Fang series.
May 27, 2015
This book was a really good book in my opinion. I liked how Wally had gotten into the cave of giant ants without being noticed, Until he tried to leave. That's when he got spotted.
Plot: This book was about how Wally and Cheyenne took down the Mandible sisters. They got a team of a bunch of people and creatures. There was a giant spider/human thing, a scientist, a vampire, and 36 orphans. They ran in and beat the Mandible sisters and they got Cheyenne from them. then they burned the house down. One of them escaped and told the ant queen, and she ordered wally's death, so they hire an assassin.
Characterization: wally and Cheyenne they are twins. They are both 10 years old and see the opposite of each other even tho now wally is starting to see the good side of things. They have a dead dad that is now a vampire, they are staying in a house that has a giant spider/human creature a scientist and now a vampire.
Plot: This book was about how Wally and Cheyenne took down the Mandible sisters. They got a team of a bunch of people and creatures. There was a giant spider/human thing, a scientist, a vampire, and 36 orphans. They ran in and beat the Mandible sisters and they got Cheyenne from them. then they burned the house down. One of them escaped and told the ant queen, and she ordered wally's death, so they hire an assassin.
Characterization: wally and Cheyenne they are twins. They are both 10 years old and see the opposite of each other even tho now wally is starting to see the good side of things. They have a dead dad that is now a vampire, they are staying in a house that has a giant spider/human creature a scientist and now a vampire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2009
I decided to read this because I was looking for more books to recommend to upper elementary aged boys (it was on a list of recommended reading for boys). I don't know...do boys like stories about giant ants disguised as humans who kidnap kids with snotty noses and smelly feet so they can feed their baby larvae that are being raised to take over the world? Or a professors who marry giant spiders? Or Dads who die in unfortunate Port-a-Potty accidents, turn into zombies only to later be transformed into a vampire who licks the bloody nose of passengers on the Cincinnati public transit system? I didn't particularly care for this book, but then again...I'm a grown woman with daughters, not sons. Maybe I'm just out-of-touch with the pre-adolescent boy brain??
November 10, 2009
the book fall of the house of mandible is about who there bopy name wally that has to save cheyenne then he becomes up with a brillant plan to save her and bring her bakc to her family to the shluffmuffin family . mandible sister also know as the onts have been kipnapped again and it up to all willy to save her life her dad a vampire i recommend this book to anyone that like to read mystery books
January 8, 2016
I loved this boo and I think it was one of the best ones by far. It was really intriguing and I loved many parts of the book. One of my favorite sections of the book was when everyone started to gather up in the madible sisters' home. I also loved the ending of this book and it wanted me to read me of what was going to happen because of what one of the mandible sisters died. I was also wondering what one of the sisters meant at the end of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2012
Right up there with book 1 in enjoyment level! Don't get me wrong, books 2 and 3 were good, but this returns to the wacky, crazy, oh-my-goodness moments of book 1. :P At the beginning of this book, Wally and Cheyenne have escaped from the Mandibles yet again, but you don't really think it's going to stay that way do you? Enough said. Just read. :)
January 2, 2011
Good twist at the end, unexpected.
April 18, 2014
This is a good book in the series, there was some weird parts i thought though. Other than that it was one of my favorite books.
February 6, 2016
Shluffmuffins adventure. The onts kidnap Cheyenne and Wally has to save her, resulting a large house fire . .
February 28, 2011
This is so ridiculous that it is actually enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews