As a special October treat, I wanted to revisit a book I read and loved when I was little… Bunnicula. Who doesn’t love a story about a rabbit that is a vampire?? Bunnicula has always had a special place in my heart and I have never forgotten about him. When I was little, I think I only got up to book 3. When I looked in to the series more in depth a few years ago, I found out that there are actually 7 books in the series, the last one came out in the 2000s! I hit my local used book store and searched out the whole series. I have been saving them ever since for a special occasion. You can’t get more special then Halloween time! I love Halloween. Not only is in my b-day, but DUH.. It’s all about scary things and candy!! Of course I’m going to love Halloween!!! I love the whole month of October and treat it like a month long Halloween celebration. I would love to have one of those count down calendars that tells you all year long how many days till Christmas, but instead of Christmas it’s Halloween! I digress…. Without further ado, here is the review for Bunnicula!
This book is written by Harold. His fulltime occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. Monroe and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell the full story of what happened in the Monroe household after the rabbit arrived. Was Bunnicula really a vampire? Only Bunnicula knows for sure. But the story of Chester’s suspicions and their consequences makes uproarious reading.
Bunnicula – A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe. Book # 1 of the Bunnicula series. Illustrated by Alan Daniel. Originally published in 1979. My version is the first Scholastic printing, September 1997. 98 pages.
*SQUEEEEEEE* VAMPIRE BUN BUN!! 😀 Bunnies are cute, vampires are awesome, you put them together and it is total epic win. This is such a cute book. Bunnicula drains the juice out of veggies and leaves behind dried up white husks of whatever veggie he just drained. So cute. And if a vampire bunny isn’t cute enough, this story is told from the point of view of the household pets. I love that approach. It is always so cool getting to see a story from the animals perspective!
Harold, the dog, tells the story of how the baby bunny became a member of the family. Chester, the cat, thinks Bunnicula is a vampire and is a danger to the family. Chester spends the whole time trying to kill Bunnicula by putting garlic all over him, hitting him with a raw steak, and stealing all of Bunnicula’s food so the poor little guy can’t even eat. Chester is super annoying. Not only is he trying to kill the poor little Bunnicula, but he is also a pompous know-it-all who is kind of a jerk to everyone the whole time. Sadly, he has the spotlight almost the whole time. Boooooooo!! I feel like there is not nearly enough of Bunnicula.
Chester deems the rabbit as not normal, but Harold eventually realizes that “not normal” does not equal bad or dangerous. Through Harold’s eyes you see that it is ok to be friends with someone who is “weird” or different then you, that there is nothing to be afraid of. Harold clearly loves Bunnicula and Chester for who they are even though they are both rather unusual friends. Bunnicula actually turned out to be a rather important lesson that a I think a lot of people in the world could really use right now.
The artwork is done by Alan Daniel. He has a beautiful style. The animals are pretty adorable. The faces are just filled with emotion! There are plenty of illustrations to enjoy throughout the book. I really liked the artwork.
With a cute vampire bunny and an important lesson to learn, it is no wonder that Bunnicula is still going strong after almost 40 years.
Creature From The Book Lagoon 
this series is so me. A friend of mine loved them. Glad to see you do too!