Review #20: Bunnicula : A Rabbit Take of Mystery by James and Deborah Howe

Title: Howe, Deborah & Howe, James. Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2006 [orig 1979]. Pb. $5.99. ISBN 978-1416928171

Genre: Fiction/Science Fiction/Suspense
Reading Level/Interest Level: Grade 3 & Up
Awards: None
Series: Bunnicula

·         Book 1: Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery

·         Book 2: Holiday Inn

·         Book 3: The Celery Strikes At Midnight

·         Book 4: Nighty-Nightmare Bunnicula Strikes Again!

·         Book 5: Return to Howliday Inn

·         Book 6: Bunnicula Strikes Again!

·         Book 7: Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow

Similar Titles: Bunnicula and Friends series by James Howe, Tales From the House of Bunnicula series by James Howe

With tales of vampires being so popular with the teen crowd, why should it be any different for tweens? Except for perhaps that instead of chasing werewolves and fighting for the heart of the girl, this book is told from the perspective of the family dog, Harold, and the would-be villain is a vegetable juice draining rabbit named Bunnicula.

When a black and white bunny is found at a showing of Dracula by the Monroe family, they jokingly name him Bunnicula and take him home, introducing him to the loyal family dog, Harold and the paranoid household cat, Chester. With terrifying assumptions, mysterious goings on, blanched vegetables on the loose and perhaps more than your average amount of jealousy, Chester attempts to convince Harold that Bunnicula truly is a real vampire, and therefore a threat to the Monroe's and themselves and must be destroyed.

With an older child’s version of suspense, mystery and comedy, Bunnicula is a fun read, an age appropriate journey into vampire myths and a great introduction to series reading. The stories are silly enough to be entertaining and heartwarming and real enough to be relatable and educational, often teaching that jumping to conclusions may not be wise and that despite differences, there is room enough for one more in every family.  You may even find yourself forgetting that you’re being written to by a dog!

While I highly recommend the first three novels, and to some extent the remainder, I would advise against the television series which made no sense in contrast to the books, which kept you guessing, but always stayed true to the story.