The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado starts out with a funny conversation between half-asleep Hank and Drover. (Those dogs must truly love pork chops because 'pork chop' is frequently included when they talk in their sleep or are half alseep in these books.)

Little Alfred (pronounced 'Alferd') lets the dogs into the house during a thunderstorm. All three are terrified when they think that Little Alfred's mother, Sally May, is going to find out. Loved the sound effects when she comes toward the kitchen. High Loper himself has a good line when he unknowingly sniffs those wet dogs in the dark.

There is indeed a tornado headed for the Loper ranch. The Lopers head for the storm cellar. I guess Little Alfred was too afraid to tell his parents that they were trapping the dogs in the house.

Hank and Drover escape, only to have an adventure with the tornado. So do those two buzzards, Wallace and Junior. (I wonder why I never realized that Wallace and Hank have the same oversized egos and not-always-correct use of big words before. No wonder they don't like each other.) Loved Wallace's lines about why they should be calling it a cyclone instead of a tornado and his pride about being a grouch.

The dogs' escape from their peril will probably be handed down in the Loper family for generations to come. It might even spread throughout Ochiltree County, if not all of Texas.

Drover contributes a song he wrote, 'Never Bark at a Funnel-Shaped Cloud'. My opinion of it isn't as low as Hank's, but Hank does come up with better songs.

Speaking of singing, three songs are sung as rounds in this book: 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat;' 'Three Blind Mice,' and a song I'd never heard before: 'Why Doesn't My Goose [sing as well as thy goose when I paid for my goose twice as much as thy goose]'.

Go on and git yerself some fine family entertainment and pick up the audio edition of The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado. ( )