Duo Review of Vlad the Worst Vampire and Fang-tastic Friends by Anna Wilson, illustrations by Kathryn Durst

Vlad The World's Worst Vampire by Anna Wilson, illustrations by Kathryn Durst 
Format:  Paperback

Publisher:  Kane Miller Publishing
Number of Pages:  160
Published in US:  2020
Source:  Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Opening Line:  " A full moon was rising above Misery Manor."

Vlad lives at Misery Manor with his father, Count Drax, mother, Countess Mortemia, Grandpa Gory, their butler Mulch and Vlad's pet bat Flit.  Being the youngest member of the family, Vlad has a lot of pressure to live up to the Impaler family name and so far, Vlad hasn't been doing a very good job, he's failing in all of his lesson's.  Vlad hasn't been able to fly and  can't even muster an evil laugh yet.  What will his parents do?  Poor Vlad has a dream of his own, one that doesn't involve sleeping in a coffin or drinking blood, he wants to attend a human school and make some real friends.  His parents have warned him that it is too risky to go out during daylight, that he'll get burned up.  He knows the rule about never, ever encountering a human, but the draw to going to a human school is just to strong for him to avoid.   

Vlad the World's Worst Vampire is an adorable book for Halloween, the illustrations by Kathryn Durst are just wonderful.  It kinda reminds me of a gentler Addams Family, nothing spooky or scary at all.  It's just a cute story about a little vampire who isn't happy being a vampire and wants to make some human friends.  So Vlad does what any kid in this situation might do and sneaks out while everyone else is asleep.  School turns out to be much more challenging than Vlad thought, teachers want notes from parents and require documents to be filled out, and his first encounter with Boz,  a bully leaves him second guessing about coming back again.  But then Vlad meets Minxie, a young girl who is very interested in being his friend and Vlad starts to see the benefits of coming to school.  Vlad works really hard at home trying to please his parents expectations and sneaks out every day to spend time with Minxie.  In the end, he even learns how to be a better vampire.       

Fang-tastic Friends (Vlad The World's Worst Vampire) by Anna Wilson, illustrations by Kathryn Durst 
Format:  Paperback

Publisher:  Kane Miller Publishing
Number of Pages:  160
Published in US:  2020
Source:  Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Opening Line: "Vlad had been working on his vampire skills since dusk on Friday, under the strict guidance of his mother, Mortemia."

Fang-tastic Friends takes place shortly after the first book.  Vlad is still struggling with living up to his mother's expectations, with so little progress being made, she threatens to send him to Translyvania for lessons.  Concerned about leaving his new friend, Vlad concocts various excuses for why he can't go, but nothing seems to be working.  Then Grandpa Gory steps in and convinces his parents to go ahead to Translyvania without him.  Grandpa Gory plans to take Vlad under his wing and will make sure that he finishes his mother's list of lessons before they get back to the Manor.  But each new task turns out more difficult for Vlad to master.  

Again the illustrations by Kathryn Durst make these stories so enjoyable to read.  Filled with bats, spiders and a good old Halloween vibe.  This time around Vlad has to conquer two of his deepest fears,  learning to fly in the dark and collecting one hundred different types of spiders.  And if that wasn't hard enough, he also has to master his mind-control skills.  But having Minxie as his new best friend makes it all worth it and somehow together they find a way to make things happen.  I really liked Vlad's Grandpa in this one, and how Grandpa Gory and Mulch were on to his sneaking out of the house.  They were sweet in sharing hot chocolate with him and didn't even mind when Vlad snuck Minxie into the Manor.  I do have to say the tiny thing that makes me like this one a little less is the bully Boz and how Vlad kind of gets even with him after Boz bullies him first.  Bullying should never be tolerated, which their teacher never does, but Vlad then retaliates.  While I know it's realistic to want to get even with someone who embarrases you, I would have personally loved for Vlad and Boz to have resolved things in a different way.  Vlad does realize his actions may cause Boz to dislike him even more, and in a lot of ways he also seems to feel bad, I guess I just hoped that somehow he would apologize for dropping spiders on Boz's head.  Hopefully, in a future book they can patch things up and like Minxie, Boz can be okay with Vlad being a vampire and maybe they can be friends too.     

  

                         **Thank you to Kane Miller Publishing for the review copies.**