THEME:   Literature enjambed with kids' games   
GOOD ONES:     Palahniuk tale of a rowdy slumber party?   PILLOW FIGHT CLUB   
Orwell tale of Beanie Baby breeding?   STUFFED ANIMAL FARM   
Stud site   EAR LOBE [I thought MY STUDY]   
Late notice?   OBIT   
Wind in a pit   OBOE   
Old Bologna bread   LIRE [pronounced /balony/, it sounds like a stale sandwich]   
One with a second   DUELER [sounded like numbers to me]   
Base decision maker   UMP [could be The Evil One]        
BTW:   Tolstoy tale of child's play   
THUMB WAR AND PEACE [it's thumb 
wrestle]      
Carson tale of well-behaved classroom clock watchers   SILENT SPRING FEVER [clock-watching does not mean or suggest spring fever --- perhaps "day dreamers" would be better]      
These, in Juarez   
ESTAS [exactly!]      
Parisian's "to be"   
ETRE [but not Londoner's]      
Mastermind   RING LEADER [more often he's just a jerk]      
The Devil's label?   PRADA [from 
The Devil Wears Prada --- tough but fair]      
Drives the getaway car for   ABETS [tired of this clue?  What about "Watches out for"?]      
Winter 
outburst?   BRR [hardly an outburst --- more a mumbled interjection]         
RATING: 
 
   Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun