James Howe

James Howe writes children's fiction with comic suspense, play, and sympathy for characters who seem strange to others. Return to Howliday Inn is the fifth main Bunnicula adventure and the fourth sequel to the book he first created with his late wife, Deborah Howe. Harold the dog narrates as he returns with Chester and Howie to Chateau Bow-Wow, a boarding kennel where ominous weather, an open carrier, and unfamiliar animals revive Chester's taste for paranormal explanations. The mystery stays playful while the pets' contrasting personalities drive the humor. Atheneum first published the novel in 1992 with Alan Daniel's illustrations, then issued a Bunnicula and Friends digital edition in 2012. Victor Garber performs Listening Library's 2000 unabridged recording, distinguishing Harold's trusting warmth from Chester's theatrical suspicion. Howe's work often returns to acceptance and difference, and this sequel applies those concerns through animal friendships, mistaken assumptions, and a setting that looks more frightening than it finally proves to be.