Bunnicula

I had the pleasure of the company of my neighbor's 9-year-old granddaughter last night while her two grandmothers Christmas shopped.... for her, she hoped. She brought her book with her and after she fell asleep, I flipped through it, and then I sat down and read all 128 pages of this little charmer. Having Howard, the dog, be the narrator with his friend, Chester, the cat, was a stroke of genius. This book is so funny and absolutely perfect for all ages. Adults will enjoy the break it gives us from our everyday lives and the wonderful humor. The carrots and some of the other veggies were the only casualties in the story, and they were darn cute. ( )

A true classic in children's literature, "Bunnicula" is a tongue-in-cheek novel full of wit and wonder for children and adults.

Told from the perspective of a loyal dog, the story revolves around the mystery of a new pet - a rabbit the dog suspects is also a vampire, drinking the blood of vegetables rather than people. The story isn't particularly scary, and the humor is dry but deeply enjoyable.

The 40th edition is well made, with orange edges and a fun cover. The story itself and this edition both earn a strong 5 stars. ( )

There's something strange about that new bunny rabbit the Monroe family has just brought home. Why does it have fangs? And what is happening to those poor, innocent vegetables? The cat, who has read entirely too many horror novels, is worried, but the family dog just wants everybody to get along.

A beloved childhood classic that I've somehow managed to miss entirely for my whole life, despite the fact that I might have been at about the right age for it when it first came out. I can see why people are fond of it, though. It's very cute, and I can imagine actually being a bit creeped out by those drained-of-juice veggies as a little kid. Although as an adult I'm far more disturbed by the diets of the other animals. Please, kids, do not feed your dog chocolate cake or give your adult cat milk!

The 40th anniversary edition comes with an introduction by author James Howe, some short comments by a few other kids' book authors about how much they loved it when they were kids, and a gallery of cover art and other depictions of the titular bunny. Also a weird fuzzy cover, for some reason. ( )

Another story read to my kids at bedtime. They both enjoyed it (my 10-year-old thought it was funny enough, my eight-year-old was relieved to find it wasn't as scary as the cover made it look like "don't judge a book...") For me, it was a nice return to a book I read and liked as a child and unlike some classics, it was enjoyable to read as an adult. The one thing I didn't know when I read it at 9 or 10 was that one of the authors, Deborah Howe, wife of James, had passed from cancer at 31 and just a little before the book was published. It's sad to think she never got to see how much joy the story she created with her husband brought to the world. ( )

Because you enjoyed The Treadstone Resurrection (Treadstone, #1):