The Drac Who Didn't Slack …..."Little Vampire Goes To School"
Written: Jan 25 '06 (Updated Feb 15 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very cute story, excellent illustrations, a must read for comic book fans.
Cons: Some of the text is hard to read.
The Bottom Line: If you want to read a very cute story about a little vampire that seeks a higher level of learning ... this is a great pick.
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| Freak369's Full Review: |
I saw the title of the book online and bought it without checking out the details of it; from the title you might think that this is a picture book or something for young readers. When it arrived I realized that this is more of a comic than a kids book; it doesn’t have the panels and block text that you find in most comic books but it is easy to read once you get used to the font of the text. Being someone that loves Halloween and anything vampire related, the title really grabbed me when I saw it. The seller was offering it for the “buy it now” price of $4.00 which I sort of hesitated on - it was used but she assured me [in an email] that it was in great condition. When I saw that this has a suggested retail price of $12.95 US / $20.95 Canadian, I knew that I got a good deal on it and when it arrived it was in a lot better shape than I expected it to be. This is something that anyone can read and appreciate, it isn’t long and complex but there are a lot of great things in the story for kids of all ages... and yes, that includes adults
Little Vampire Goes To School
Little Vampire, he has no name like you or I, has a pretty good life. He can change into a bat, rat or wolf when ever he likes, he doesn’t have any rules or bed time and he’s surrounded by ghosts, ghouls and monsters that, despite their looks, care deeply about him. The illustrations that you see through the course of the book are extremely interesting, they aren’t elaborate or highly detailed but they are intricate. Put it this way, you won’t be able to read this just once - you’ll keep flipping through it and catching things you missed on previous reads. The story is pretty simple, Little Vampire has only one wish, he wants to go to school. This is something that his mother and others that live at the mansion just don’t understand. To them he has a great life - why would he want to complicate it by going to school?
When they see how determined he is to go to school they decide to let him try it but not before they offer him all kinds of helpful hints. When the topic of taking a treat for the teacher comes up, it’s a rather interesting scenario. Little Vampire and Phantomat leave for school with the promise that they will return before dawn. When they arrive they find the school is empty, of course it is going to be empty if you go in the middle of the night. When he returned home he was sadder than when he left. The next night the ghosts all agreed that they would help Little Vampire by going to school with him so he wouldn’t be alone. The Captain was teaching the class and made it very clear that no one should disturb the things that belong to mortals but Little Vampire didn’t listen. Instead he started doing the unfinished homework of someone named Michael Douffon. This is where the book take a hilarious turn and you really have no idea where the story is going. When it started talking about thanking god and all the wonderful things he does ... I got a sick feeling in my stomach thinking that the book was some kind of a religious propaganda in disguise.
Michael was more than a little shocked when he’d open his notebook each day and his assignments were completed. Working up his nerve he wrote a note for his unseen homework fairy asking who he is. The next day he got his answer ... a vampire was doing his work for him. Back and forth the notes go, each getting funnier than the last. Michael was convinced that a robber was breaking into the school each night, Little Vampire retorted by saying, “You think if I was a burglar I’d have nothing better to do than your algebra homework?”. The cat is let out of the bag when a ghost snitches on Little Vampire for doing a humans homework. The Captain is mad but he understands why it happened. As usual Phantomat offers to get the boys address from the office so they can tell hi that he can’t talk about Little Vampire ... and to torture him.... [he’s only kidding about that].
Little Vampire and Phantomat make the trek to Charles Street where they eventually find Michael. He introduces them to his pet fish Alfonso and Phantomat is a little jealous - that leads to him showing off a little and ... well, you’ll have to read the book to find out the rather explosive punch line to that. They take Michael back to the mansion so he can meet everyone and in true child fashion, he isn’t scare in the least at what he sees. You get a nice primer on why you shouldn’t pee on graves too - first off it’s rude, second it really ticks the ghosts off and third it makes their joints creak .. well, some of that has to do with them being dead as well as the moss that is in their joint spaces. The next few pages are for the adults to enjoy, most of the humor will go right over the heads of most kids but that’s cool. It makes the ending that much more enjoyable. Suffice it to say, both Little Vampire and Michael remained friends and both did their own work from that day on ... it left them that much more time to play with each other.
The Mystery That Is Phantomat
Personally I would have named him Phantomutt but I just write the reviews, not the books. Phantomat is Little Vampire’s best friend. He is a constant source of amusement in the book and voices his opinion often. They say that dogs are mans best friend, I guess the same principal holds true in the world of the living dead. Phantomat is a dog ... but not your average dog. He can fly, has bulging yellow eyes and is a little on the portly side. When Little Vampire says that he wants to play with kids his own age, Phantomat says, “And what’s that supposed to mean, ‘his own age’. A vampire doesn’t have an ‘age’. As soon as he became a vampire he stopped growing old, so what’s all this nonsense?”. Phantomat is sort of like that friend you have that always has an opinion about everything and you know that no matter what is going on, he or she is going to say whatever is on their mind regardless of whether or not you want to hear it..
What I Learned From This Book
1. Poop is not a good present.
2. Phantomat is never wrong.
3. Vampires are great at algebra.
4. Little Vampire’s mom is a hottie.
5. Never ask an old, dead sea captain for advice; they are long winded and all they have on their mind is treasure.
The Bottom Line
I can’t help but laugh when I read through this book; it has a lot to offer children and stresses that you should never let someone else do your homework [even if they are a vampire]. The strong bond between Little Vampire and Phantomat may seem strange but it’s no different from little boys who spend hours playing with their faithful furry four legged friends. For adults there are a lot of little things added - the puns and play on words, things in the illustration and assortment of monsters, ghosts and ghouls. I can’t believe that I never heard of this book before spotting the title at eBay but now that I have it I know it is going to be something that I will make good use of when I need a laugh. Now all I have to do is see if there are any other books from the author that involve Little Vampire!
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2006 Freak369
Other vampire related books ...
• Vampire State Building • ”The Vampire’s Assistant” • The Vampire Prince • Vampire High • The Vampire Encyclopedia • The Vampire Rabbit • Buffy The Vampire Slayer: A Stake To The Heart • Castle Dracula: Romania's Vampire Home • The Vampire Who Came For Christmas • Vampire Kisses • The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of The Undead • The Vampire Companion: The Official Guide to Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles • The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar For The Innocent, The Eager, And The Doomed • Slayer Slang: A “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” Lexicon •
Recommended:
Yes
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