Frozen woodchucks are attacking the galaxy! But they're no match for Jimmy and his crew of space travelers . . . or are they? Meet our heroes: Jimmy Weathers An average fifth grader living in New York City who never suspected that the fate of the world would be resting squarely on his ten-year-old shoulders. William H. Taft V Jimmy's best friend—the great-great-great-great-nephew of the fattest man who was ever president. Janice Claytooth A ten-year-old rocket scientist whose bestselling book Light Speed and You has sold only one copy on earth but millions throughout the galaxy. Imogene Weathers A feisty two-year-old inventor with a penchant for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Will this unlikely quartet discover the mastermind behind the frozen woodchuck attacks before it's too late? Frozen woodchucks are attacking the galaxy! But they're no match for Jimmy and his crew of space travelers . . . or are they? Meet our heroes: Jimmy Weathers An average fifth grader living in New York City who never suspected that the fate of the world would be resting squarely on his ten-year-old shoulders. William H. Taft V Jimmy's best friend—the great-great-great-great-nephew of the fattest man who was ever president. Janice Claytooth A ten-year-old rocket scientist whose bestselling book Light Speed and You has sold only one copy on earth but millions throughout the galaxy. Imogene Weathers A feisty two-year-old inventor with a penchant for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Will this unlikely quartet discover the mastermind behind the frozen woodchuck attacks before it's too late? Dan Elish is the insanely gifted author of many novels for both adults and children, including The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks , 13 (based on the Broadway musical), and The Worldwide Dessert Contest . When he's not busy typing furiously away on his Lap-Top (not a Gum-Top or a Hat-Top or even a Balloon-Top), you can find Dan in New York City, where he lives with his wife, Andrea, and daughter, Cassie, and son, John. The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks By Dan Elish HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 Dan Elish All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061138713 Chapter One The First Sighting As Jimmy Weathers helped his mother set the table that Saturday evening in early April, he had no idea that the fate of mankind was about to come crashing down on his shoulders. It happened just as Jimmy was laying a fork on his father's napkin. The front door to his family's small two-bedroom apartment burst open. In ran Imogene, Jimmy's two-and-a-half-year-old sister. "Woodchuck, Mommy!" she cried, pulling hard on Jimmy's mother's pants. "Big, giant woodchuck!" Jimmy smiled. He and Imogene shared a small room. He was very used to what he called "Genie-speak." Jimmy's mother scooped Imogene into her arms. "A woodchuck? Tell Mommy where you saw it." The girl flung her purple backpack onto the sofa. "In park!" The boy saw the smile curling on his mother's lips. Whatever Imogene had thought she had seen, it most certainly had not been a woodchuck. With the exception of squirrels, mice, and pigeons, New York City's Central Park was not known for its wildlife. He doubted there had been a woodchuck there for a hundred years, let alone a "giant" one. "Now, now, dear," Jimmy's mother said. "Are you sure it was a woodchuck you saw?" Before Imogene had a chance to answer, Jimmy's father was in the room, eyes wide. He laid the day's mail on the dining-room table and began waving his arms. His whole being took on a wild, excited glow. "The largest darned one you ever saw, Emma!" Jimmy and his mom exchanged a smile. By day Richard Weathers was a lawyer at the firm of Weasel, Waxel & Whine—a job he hated. By night he was a frustrated children's novelist who had written an entire shelf's worth of unpublished books, often animal-themed, with titles that ranged from Chickens Who Tango to The Sloth Who Ruled Europe . One of Jimmy's favorites included a character with unusual dining habits, who began each meal with a special poem: I eats the feets of fried raccoon— I eats them with a three-pronged spoon. Dinner comes, my day's complete Chompin' on them raccoon feet. Indeed, Jimmy and his mom—and really all of Richard Weathers's friends—were used to the ramblings of his overactive imagination. A giant woodchuck? Jimmy didn't bat an eye. "Oh, really, Dad?" the boy said, playing along. "How big was he?" Jimmy's father jumped up on one of the foldout chairs they used in the dining room and stretched his arms all the way to the ceiling. "Big!" he said. "We're talking twenty, thirty feet!" "Big, big woodchuck!" Imogene said. Jimmy's father hopped back to the floor and kept on talking. "It was unbelievable. There I was, watching Imogene playing in the field by the playground, when all of a sudden she decides to run after a squirrel. Naturally I follow. Soon we find ourselves in woods up around 103rd Street.