Slappy's Nightmare is a Deconstruction of the previous books he's been in.
The Night of the Living Dummy books usually follow the following formula: Kid gets dummy. Mysterious things happen. Protagonist gets blamed. Dummy reveals he's alive and demands the kid to be his slave. Kid tries to prove the dummy did it. Parents don't believe, dismiss the story, or continue to blame the kid. Kid tries to defeat the doll/prove he's alive, sometimes to no avail. In Slappy's Nightmare, basically every point is mocked, averted, inverted, or subverted:
Slappy must maintain innocence, a Masquerade, and avoid revealing himself. He also has to do three good deeds, but another character keeps accusing him of the wrongdoing.
The mother in this book actually realizes that yes, part of the problems ARE because of the dummy.
Slappy never reveals himself or causes trouble unless his life is threatened.
Even in the event that he does attempt to do something bad, he doesn't get away with it.
Neither Slappy, nor the person blaming him, is the real culprit.
