Synopses & Reviews
Watch out for the road weenies!
A town is overrun by road weenies--a.k.a. joggers--who never smile. A girl thinks she's too old for Halloween...until she finds a special pair of gloves. A boy takes a shortcut to an unexpected place. A mummy takes his revenge, one little piece at a time.... Welcome to the weird and wacky world of award-winning storyteller and master of the macabre, David Lubar. These thirty-five tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying are just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark. As an added bonus at the end of the book, David answers the question most frequently asked of writers with a behind-the-scenes look at the various ways he got the ideas for the stories in this collection. Don't be a weenie. Read these stories. If you dare!
Review
"Fans of the first [collection] will find this compulsively readable"
Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Pleasingly short, well-crafted pieces...mixes the comic and the creepy, the merely weird with the truly haunting."
San Francisco Chronicle
Review
“Fans of the first [collection] will find this compulsively readable"
Review
"Lubar strikes again. Another winning round-up."--
Booklist on
Invasion of the Road Weenies
"Pleasingly short, well-crafted pieces...mixes the comic and the creepy, the merely weird with the truly haunting."--San Francisco Chronicle on Invasion of the Road Weenies
"Fans of the first [collection] will find this compulsively readable."--Kirkus Reviews on Invasion of the Road Weenies
Review
Questions for Discussion
1. What fear does Jennifer conquer in “The Last Halloween”? By what means is her fear conquered? What themes or ideas from this first story carry through some or all of the other tales in Invasion of the Road Weenies?
2. What classic superstition plays a role in “Bed Tings”? Do you believe in such notions as “bad things come in threes” or “black cats bring bad luck”? Has superstition ever influenced your actions or thoughts? Explain.
3. Several stories in this collection, such as “The Green Man,” deal with scary rumors spread around schools and neighborhoods. How do you think these rumors start? Has such a rumor ever spread through your community? Do you believe the scary stories other kids tell on the playground? Why or why not?
4. “Precious Memories” and “We Interrupt This Program” explore strange interactions between kids and technology. What is your reaction to these stories? Do you ever have frightening thoughts about the high-tech devices in your home? Describe these ideas.
5. Are “Goose Eggs” and “Anything You Want” stories about greed? Why or why not? What might the author be saying about wealth and wishes? What other stories in the collection explore this or related themes?
6. Several stories deal with the interaction between people and nature. What do you think the author fears, appreciates, or worries about nature and the way people treat their world? Do you share any of these concerns?
7. Look back through the collection to find stories in which kids disappear. Compare and contrast these tales. Why do you think the author includes such a selection of disappearance stories?
8. “Unseen,” “Invasion of the Road Weenies,” and “The Shortcut” all involve taking roads or pathways. What other elements do these stories share? How is the notion of traveling along a path an important motif in this story collection? Explain your answer.
9. In the last section of the book, David Lubar describes how he came to write the stories in this collection. Were any of his thoughts surprising? Did you ever experience similar “wonders”? For which of his musings might you have come up with an entirely different story? Briefly describe the story you would tell.
10. Short story master Edgar Allan Poe once said: “They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” What does this statement mean to you? How might it apply to Invasion of the Road Weenies, to author David Lubar, and to any dreamers you might know? "Lubar strikes again. Another winning round-up."
Booklist
Synopsis
Invasion of the Road Weenies, a collection of warped and creepy tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying from the award-winning storyteller and master of the macabre, David Lubar
A town is overrun by road weenies--a.k.a. joggers--who never smile. A girl thinks she's too old for Halloween...until she finds a special pair of gloves. A boy takes a shortcut to an unexpected place. A mummy takes his revenge, one little piece at a time.... Welcome to the weird and wacky world of award-winning storyteller and master of the macabre, David Lubar. These thirty-five tales ranging from the silly and offbeat to flat-out horrifying are just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark.
As an added bonus at the end of the book, David answers the question most frequently asked of writers with a behind-the-scenes look at the various ways he got the ideas for the stories in this collection. Don't be a weenie. Read these stories. If you dare
About the Author
David Lubar created a sensation with his debut novel, Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Thousands of kids and educators across the country have voted Hidden Talents onto over twenty state lists. David is also the author of True Talents, the sequel to Hidden Talents; Flip, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror selection; five short story collections, including In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies, and Attack of the Vampire Weenies; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, and he has also lived in New Brunswick, Edison, and Piscataway, NJ, and Sacramento, CA. Besides writing, he has also worked as a video game programmer and designer. He now lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.