Review by Booklist Review
A young vampire snug in his crypt conjures up a litany of the creatures that might be keeping him from sleep. Is it the spider spitting? THOOP! THOOP. he wonders, o. Maybe it's the bats flitting? FLAPPITY! FLAP. Cockroaches, a werewolf, skeletons, a witch, and ghosts all crowd onto the pages (even the crypt itself comes to life) before the vampire realizes the problem has nothing to do with any of them. The book concludes with a cozy scene of the vampire in bed, asleep and producing z's. Children will delight in the wonderfully goofy cast of characters brought together in the appealingly cluttered illustrations. With lots of unusual sounds and a constant tease regarding the appearance of the next character, this begs to be read aloud repeatedly, and children will quickly learn to anticipate which character comes next. For those who are brave enough, use this alongside J. Otto Seibold's Vunce Upon a Time (2008) and Ross Collins' Dear Vampa (2009).--Enos, Randal. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Egielski (Captain Sky Blue) presents a creepy vampire child who cannot fall asleep in his noisy cemetery. The little vampire (whose saucer eyes and bulbous head make him resemble a cartoon Martian) wonders what keeps him up so late: "Could it be-/ the werewolf bawling?/ Awhoo!-Awhoo!/ That's loud, but so are-/ the skeletons clacking! Clickity-clack!" Cuddling a Frankenstein's monster doll, he hops off his crypt to hear the "flappity!-flap!" of three brown bats and the "boo!-boo!" of four hovering ghosts. Egielski requires readers to turn the page before revealing each ghoul, and he provides an onomatopoeic soundtrack. In a sequence that recalls Where the Wild Things Are, Egielski gradually expands from a small closeup on the vampire to wide double-page stagings of his surroundings and the many monsters in action. Amid the soft gradations of blue, gray, brown, and violet, the vampire's paper-white skin and nightshirt stand out like a beacon; at story's end, he realizes dawn is breaking and discovers, "It wasn't bedtime yet for me." This spectral tale will find its likeliest audience when October rolls around. Ages 3-7. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-The first picture, framed with cobwebs and twigs set on a plain black background, shows the title character sitting on a bed, holding a Frankenstein doll. "Why can't I sleep? What could it be? Is it.." On the next page, the text continues, "the spider spitting? THOOP!-THOOP!" The accompanying picture, in a slightly larger frame, depicts the vampire staring at a yellow and blue spider. In this cumulative tale, a few flitting (and flapping) bats soon make an appearance, followed by a werewolf, skeletons, ghosts, and several other scary creatures of the night. The book closes on a satisfying note, with everyone safe and sound. Egielski's watercolor/ink paintings are superbly executed, with strong colors and bold, expressive lines. They show off the artist's eccentric sensibility and abound with whimsical details, making this book perfect for the close examination that comes with one-on-one sharing. Meanwhile, listeners will want to chime in on the many sound effects, which are great for library storytimes. Even preschoolers can get in on the vampire craze with this fun offering.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
One night a little vampire in his graveyard bed can't sleep. He blames his fellow creatures--flitting bats ("FLAPPITY!--FLAP!"), crawling cockroaches ("SCRATCHITY--SCRATCH!"), etc.--until he remembers that he's nocturnal: "Don't you see? / It wasn't bedtime yet for me." Despite the ghoulish milieu, kids will have nothing to fear from the rhythmic, noise-filled story with ink and watercolor illustrations of cartoony monsters. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Egielski's saturated watercolor-and-ink artwork takes center stage in this visually rich parade of spooky nighttime creatures.Perched on his bed and holding a Frankenstein's-monster doll, the young vampire opens the tale by gazing at readers from a small, framed picture surrounded by black. He questions, "Why can't I sleep? What could it be?" Perhaps it is a spider spitting, bats flitting, cockroaches crawling or the werewolf bawling? As each creepy thing appearsall with delicious sound effectsthe framed pictures progressively expand to reveal more and more of the fanged boy's boisterous surroundings. Little Vampire, endowed with a large head and saucerlike eyes, glows in a cool white from each spread. After a few more of the usual suspects come on the scene, and the sky takes on a hint of pink, he realizes that it was just not his bedtime yet. On the only frameless, full-bleed spread, the menagerie of ghouls gathers to hear him proclaim, "GOOD MORNING, NIGHT CREATURES!" This signals the once-raucous group to go back from whence they came. The framing of the illustrations resumes, but they are now enclosed in white. With a bright sun high in the sky, the last focused frame is of Little Vampire fast asleep.Preschoolers may not be aware of the impeccable design in front of them but are sure to reap the reward of this winning, interactive bedtime story turned topsy-turvy.(Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
