LITERALLY DISTURBING: TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT by Ben Winters with illustrations by Adam Watkins. Price Stern Sloan 2013.

Here is a collection of wonderfully, shivery poems to read to kids who love scary stories. Black cats, vampires, ghosts: all the usual suspects are here in rhyme, each poem taking up just one page with an accompanying black and white illustration. Use to teach tone, mood, rhyme, scan, etc.

Blood and Belly Laughs

THE VANISHING VAMPIRE by David Lubar. Starscape, 2013.

Sebastian is walking home from the movies when suddenly he feels a sharp pain and everything goes dark. Bit by bit, he begins to put the pieces together to discover he has been bitten by a vampire. While he is not fully vampiric, the "symptoms" are all there: desire for blood, burning in direct sunlight. Has he no hope of going back to his own boyhood? Will be become one of the undead? Lubar takes readers into the mind of a vampire, or at least a partial vampire. Mystery and humor make a powerful combination in this chapter book set at Washington Irving School.

Super-supernatural

FERAL NIGHTS by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick Press, 2013.

Fans of the TANTALIZE books (TANTALIZE, ETERNAL, BLESSED, DIABOLICAL) will appreciate this book which picks up the stories of some of the minor characters from those books. Told from alternating perspectives, Yoshi, Aimee, and Clyde continue to investigate the murders that haunted Sanguini's a restaurant for predator and prey in Austin. Fast paced, filled with adventure, and satisfying in the backstories of the sidekicks, Feral Nights will be wildly popular with fans of the quartet of Tantalize books. It will also lead new fans to the four books.

Monster Mash

GHOST IN THE HOUSE by Ammi-Joan Paquette with illustrations by Adam Record. Candlewick Press, 2013.

A ghost is joined by some of the other creatures of the night in this cumulative story told in poetry. A monster, a mummy, a skeleton, and a witch join the ghost as they travel through the house tracking down a noise. Who or what could be causing it? <623>

ROMPING MONSTERS, STOMPING MONSTERS by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Kelly Murphy. Candlewick Press, 2013.

A day in the park for monsters includes all of the ordinary things: swings and slides, ice cream, and fun. Simple rhyming text will make this a terrific choice for emerging readers. <624>

VAMPIRE BABY by Kelly Bennett with illustrations by Paul Meisel. Candlewick Press, 2013.

When Tootie gets her first teeth, they are her canines. Her older brother is convinced that Tootie is a Vampire Baby because of the teeth and because Tootie loves to bite. Can he help Tootie find a new home? <625>

Evernight Lives On: Balthazar

Skye Tierney has returned home from Evernight followings its destruction in the battle between the vampires and the wraiths. In BALTHAZAR (HarperTeen, March 2012), Claudia Gray continues the stories from Evernight Academy. When Skye's life is threatened by Redgrave, a cruel master vampire, Balthazar comes to her rescue. It seems as though Skye possesses powers that are seductively attractive to Redgrave and his followers. Balthazar has a score to settle with Redgrave, the vampire who turned him centuries ago. And perhaps, Balthazar will finally allow someone to grow close to him? <652>

hurry up and wait

This past Wednesday I had a day of appointments for some medical tests downtown. I took two book, two audiobooks, and made sure to sync my Kindle app on the iPhone. I began with this book because somehow it seemed appropriate since my first stop was in the blood collection wing.




I had never read any of the series on which this GN is based. I plan to go back and visit the series now based on this book: VAMPIRE ACADEMY by Richelle Mead, adapted by Leigh Dragoon with illustrations by Emma Vieceli (Razorbill 2011). Lissa, a Moroi princess, is in danger. She is being guarded at the beginning of the novel by her friend Rose. However, the two are forced to return to the academy for their own protection. Rose begins training to become a true bodyguard for Lissa who is falling for Christian. Of course, there will be lots of danger and action in the pages of this GN which is one part romance and one part vampire battles and, on the whole, wildly appealing to readers. <457>