Bunnicula

Title: Bunnicula
Author: Deborah and James Howe
Illustrator: Alan Daniel
ISBN: 0-689-80659-0
Format: Chapter Book-Fiction, Suspense
Pages: 98 pgs.

Review:
This book is told from the point of View of Harold, the pet dog of the Monroe family. The family is Mr. and Mrs. Monroe and their two sons, Toby and Pete. He is a happy dog, and loves his family and his friend, Chester, the cat. One night the family comes home in an uproar. They found a little bunny rabbit in the seat of the theater when they went to watch Dracula at the movies. They decide to take him home especially since he had a note attached to him in a different language. Harold recognizes the language as being an obscure dialect from the Carpathian Mountain region, it said "Take good care of my baby." They decide to name the bunny Bunnicula, since they found him during a Dracula movie. Strange things start to happen after the bunny settles in. Chester sees him leaving his cage in the middle of the night and every morning, the vegetables in the refrigerator are all white with no juice left inside. The family just thinks that is it the market they are going to, but Chester, has another theory. He thinks the bunny is a vampire and tries everything he can to expose him. After trying to starve the bunny to death, the family puts in the cat in counseling and Harold makes friends with the bunny and helps him get better.

This is a suspenseful and silly book. It is written for a younger tween crowd, since it is a light and fun story. Being narrated by a dog, it also lends to some funny situations for the family dog and cat, and even has some themes of friendship and loyalty that can be learned from. This is definitely a just for fun read, since it really does not go deep into any of the characters thoughts and feelings. It can be a good book to read aloud. I would suggest reading it for entertainment, but again it is not a very deep or interesting story