Several of du Bois's novels deal with lovable eccentrics like Professor Sherman. Peter Graves concerns an intrepid schoolboy who specializes in daring adventures, and his friend Houghton F. Furlong, whose preposterous inventions rival even those in the House of Marvels.

The Alligator Case and The Horse in the Camel Suit deal with an imaginative young would-be detective who encounters bizarrely comic villains. In two of the author's series concerning the seven deadly sins, comically exaggerated traits are the basis of the plot.

In Porko von Popbutton, the appropriately named protagonist is spoofed for his gastronomic excesses, but he actually emerges as a heroic goalie in an important school game. Call Me Bandicoot features a miserly youth whose ingenuity in avoiding spending money results in absurdly funny episodes.

These humorous and imaginative books address aspects of human nature in a sly, satiric vein.