Remember Jeremy and the Aunties, that funny 1992 novel about the old-lady mannequins who come to life? Here is the sequel, which may also be read on its own, thanks to the handy little prologue. (Background: Inspired by an old tintype, Jeremy and his mother made the aunties with the idea of putting them in the audience of the theatre where Mom works. Somehow the ladies in the old photo were zapped by the photographer into their mannequin counterparts, so the aunties have real identities, personalities, and voices, but no physical needs.)

In this adventure, the aunties, Mabel, Gladys, and Dotty, disappear from their permanent home on the living-room couch after a tiff with their young friend, Jeremy. They find him rude; he finds them too free with advice. The friendship is strained. But where do mannequins who can’t move off the couch go when they run away? Well… this is the (rather shaky) science fiction part… they poke their photo into the VCR slot and are transported into the television. Regular service is completely disrupted, as only the aunties can be seen on TV, province-wide, for days, making them the inadvertent “air pirates” of the title. This gives Finn room for good-natured diatribes against television, culminating in pro- and anti-auntie demonstrations in front of the local TV station. The situation is complicated by threats from the Banks brothers, criminals with a grudge against Jeremy and the aunties. Jeremy eventually finds a way to rescue the aunties, but sorely misses the help of his more clever friend, Rick, on holiday in Calgary. (Even Rick’s poodle, Solange, is clever, and helps Jeremy quite a bit.)

Jeremy is an engaging pre-adolescent hero, often naive and inept, but loyal. He has delightfully unorthodox tastes in food (read this book for a Jell-O sandwich recipe) and a tendency to take things literally. Other characters of note include Solange, the toast-eating, button-pushing dog. But the aunties are the real stars. Finn gives them appropriately old-fashioned clothing and manners and a sharp tongue – especially Gladys, who is adept at quaint and silly insults. It’s a pleasure to read their scenes.The breezy style, offbeat humour and clever wordplay carry this book in spite of a few logical inconsistencies. It is unlikely, for example, that Rick’s father would not have a contact number for his son in Calgary. The line and wash drawings by Sally J.K. Davies are uneven: her Jeremy is nicely gangly, if a little old; her aunties are animated, but look too young. Watch for the next installment of auntie adventures – this one ends with a possible trip into the past. This series should appeal to eight- to 12-year- olds (especially boys) who like Gordon Korman and Manus Pinkwater.