By Tracy (and Shelby & Sarah) Edmunds
September 21, 2004
LITTLE VAMPIRE GOES TO SCHOOL and LITTLE VAMPIRE DOES KUNG FU (JOANN SFAR): Little Vampire lives with his mom, dad, and assorted haunts and spooks in an old mansion on a hill. In LITTLE VAMPIRE GOES TO SCHOOL, his fondest wish is to go to school like other kids, and his parents reluctantly agree. Of course, there’s no one at school in the middle of the night, so Little Vampire strikes up a pen pal conversation with one of the daytime students, Michael, and a great friendship is soon formed. In LITTLE VAMPIRE DOES KUNG FU, Michael and Little Vampire deal with a school bully – but not in the usual way!
I guarantee you’ve never read anything quite like LITTLE VAMPIRE. These stories are warm, funny, enchanting, unconventional, intriguing, and, ultimately, satisfying. And the art! Creepy and dark, yet charming and lovable, the mix of simple and complex character designs gives the book a rich feel. The panels are unbelievably detailed, yet feel uncluttered and inviting. You’ll be drawn in from the first page and will want to read these stories again and again.
Sfar has created some truly unique characters. There’s Phantomat, Little Vampire’s grumpy flying dog; his parents, the Captain of the Dead and Pandora, who have impressive parenting skills; Rabbi Solomon, the violin playing Kung Fu master who lives in a painting; Ophtamol, Claude, and Marguerite, a trio of odd monsters; and a group of truly bizarre magicians that live under the Luminous and Legendary Tree of Chinese Hanukkah.
The main characters, Little Vampire and Michael, are sweet and lovable, but they are also “real” kids. There’s none of the sugar-coating you get in most kids’ books – Sfar takes on weighty topics such as honesty, friendship, death, the existence of God, and the value of doing your own homework. The monsters act as sort of a Greek anti-chorus, voicing (and acting out) Michael’s emotions and impulses. There are morals to be learned and questions to be pondered, but they are embedded in such imaginative and unexpected stories that kids won’t notice that they’re learning and growing while they read.
While LITTLE VAMPIRE GOES TO SCHOOL is truly all ages, LITTLE VAMPIRE DOES KUNG FU is probably just a shade too dark for the youngest or most fragile kids (“Ages 10 up” is printed on the back cover). There is a scene in KUNG FU where the monsters have eaten a little boy, then they spit out the pieces and sew them back together (don’t worry – it turns out OK in the end!). At first I was disappointed that some of the lettering is in cursive, because the girls haven’t learned to read it yet. In the end, though, it meant we had to share the reading, and these stories are best when shared.
Shelby says: I like the first book better. KUNG FU was disgusting because the monsters eat Michael’s friend from school and then they have to spit him up. Little Vampire’s dad is the Captain of the Dead. He’s cool looking and has curly hair like George Washington and he knows everything, even if he doesn’t tell.
Sarah says: I like in the second book when Michael’s runnin’ and gettin’ chased by the giant bully that was throwing cows at him. It was funny when Michael said, “Sorry, we’re not allowed to bring giant dudes to school.”
|
LITTLE LIT: FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALE FUNNIES, STRANGE STORIES FOR STRANGE KIDS, and IT WAS A DARK AND SILLY NIGHT (edited by ART SPIEGELMAN and FRANCOISE MOULY): Do you find most children’s books insipid and unoriginal? Are your kids sick of happy endings? Does Barney make you want to puke? Try LITTLE LIT, three refreshing collections of odd, imaginative, clever, and unconventional stories that are not just for kids. Featuring such diverse authors and illustrators as MAURICE SENDAK (WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE), CROCKETT JOHNSON (HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON), WILLIAM JOYCE (ROLIE POLIE OLIE), WALT KELLY (POGO), DAVID MACAULAY (THE WAY THINGS WORK), and NEIL GAIMAN (SANDMAN), these collections prove that not all stories for children must have happy endings. Some do, of course, but then that’s the point of these books – every story is different, even when they all begin the same way (“It was a dark and silly night…”).
Some of my favorite stories:
“The Hungry Horse” by KAZ (FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALE FUNNIES) – a circular tale wherein a bad guy gets what he deserves.
“The Several Selves of Selby Sheldrake” by ART SPIEGELMAN (STRANGE STORIES FOR STRANGE KIDS) – which begins with nose picking and turns into an inventive play on words.
MAURICE SENDAK’s “Cereal Baby Keller” (STRANGE STORIES FOR STRANGE KIDS) – which proves that even a beloved children’s author can be slightly twisted.
IAN FALVONER & DAVID SEDARIS’ “Pretty Ugly” (STRANGE STORIES FOR STRANGE KIDS) – which gives new meaning to an old phrase.
NEIL GAIMAN & GAHAN WILSON’s “IT WAS A DARK AND SILLY NIGHT” story – which includes a jello fight in a graveyard, and, really, what’s better than that?
Kids will love the stories, but will also enjoy the games, hide-and-seeks, and jokes as well. These are large hardcover books, and aren’t cheap, but are well worth the investment – or you can probably find them at your local library. http://little-lit.com/
Sarah says: I like the Joke Page (MARK ROSENTHAL) in STRANGE STORIES because it has really funny jokes and there’s a picture where a little boy has a screw in his belly button. The doctor uses one of those screwdriver thingies to take it out and his bottom falls off! And I like NEIL GAIMAN’s story (IT WAS A DARK AND SILLY NIGHT) because it has good pictures and it’s a funny story about a boy having a party at a graveyard and all the monsters come alive. I like “The Hungry Horse” (KAZ, FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALE FUNNIES) because the guy who’s a farmer turns into a horse and they sell him. I learned that don’t get something when you can’t take care of it.
Shelby says: I like “The Two Hunchbacks” (FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALE FUNNIES) because it’s really funny.
Sarah: Yeah, the ladies took one guy’s hunch off and put it on the other guy ‘cause he messed their song up.
Shelby: Sarah, it’s my turn! I liked the story by Joost Swarte (IT WAS A DARK AND SILLY NIGHT) because the drawings are cool and this boy, his head came off and he had to go to the hospital and they put it back on. At the end he had his head on backwards. “The Baker’s Daughter” (FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALE FUNNIES) is good because some fairy person, dressed like a very poor person, asked for some food. The baker’s daughter only gave her a little piece, so she turned her into an owl. I learned even if someone’s poor and you’re rich, don’t treat ‘em different because they’re the same as you.
|
GOT YOUR NOSE (RAGNAR): Okay, I’m cheating here because this isn’t technically a graphic novel. But it’s damn amusing and the graphics are great, so sue me. It’s the story of two brothers, Horace and Borris. When Borris snatches Horace’s nose, the torture begins – armpits, black pepper, bees, any terrible thing Borris can find to shove poor Horace’s nose into. Will Horace get his nose back and exact revenge on his brother? Disgusting and hysterical! www.littlecartoons.com
Sarah says: I liked it when Borris took the nose and tooted on it. The funny part that I liked was when there were signs that said, “Please don’t feed the lion, especially your brother’s nose.” Kids will like it, but please don’t read it when you’re eating!
Shelby says: Parents won’t like it because it’s disgusting, but kids will like it – because it’s disgusting.
EMILY AND THE INTERGALACTIC LEMONADE STAND (IAN & TYSON SMITH): I was going to review this book, but I think Shelby did such a good job, I’ll just let her do it!
Shelby says: Emily is a little girl who likes ponies and she has a robot that makes the lemonade for her. There’s this little warrior named Pheef that’s so cute no one is afraid of him. Daisy is a girl whose dad is a rich army man and he gets her whatever she wants even when she’s a brat. There’s a boy who loooves robots and he wants to design one when he grows up. Aliens tried to take over the world and Emily’s robot got bigger and fought them. You should read it because it’s about robots and lemonade and all kinds of stuff.
This is a book for everyone – lots of robot action, laugh-out-loud funnies, and no bad words. Pheef is one of the most brilliant characters ever – Shelby and I loved him so much we bought Pheef tee shirts. Buy this book for every kid you know – they’ll love you for it! You can preview the first chapter at: http://www.onesmithtwosmith.com/emily/index.htm.
MASASHI TANAKA’s GON: GON is a tiny dinosaur (an unspecific species, but loosely based on T-Rex) who somehow survived extinction and is roaming the planet in modern times. Gon roams through all kinds of ecosystems, from the North American forest to the Australian outback to the Antarctic sea. He usually fights on the side of the downtrodden (prey) against a villain (predator). These stories, told entirely in drawings, are pure genius – full of passion, drama, and humor.
This is true “sequential art”. There is no dialog and there are no word balloons – just incredible drawings. The good news is, that means that even the littlest kids can read it. The not-so-good news is that they probably won’t want to. The animals in Tanaka’s tales are fairly realistic, but anthropomorphized for emotional effect. This means they can become cute (roly-poly wolf pups with big, sad eyes) as well as very frightening (huge grizzlies with gaping, drooling mouths full of sharp teeth). Gon himself is actually adorable at times (usually when he’s asleep), but often savage and threatening as well. There’s lots of biting, clawing, head-butting, and killing. Yes, killing. Tanaka does not sugar-coat the harsh reality of natural life – it’s eat or be eaten, after all. There is definitely a violent streak in these stories, but always within the context of survival. Many times the “nice” creatures team up with Gon for some serious butt-kicking on a predator, sometimes to the death. And there are plenty of Bambi moments where a mom or baby is killed.
Tanaka is a master storyteller and GON is a singular character. It’s amazing to me how this little dinosaur can be savage, violent, and brutal, yet the reader ends up loving him. For older kids and adults, this is a must-read. You know your child best – read GON yourself and decide if your little one can handle it.
Shelby says: GON has no words, like in the real world with animals. And sometimes it’s violent and sometimes it’s not. Gon is funny because he’s like two feet tall and he’s really strong. Sometimes it’s sad, like when some animals die. It’s cute sometimes, like when some wolf pups and their mother don’t push Gon away like the other animals and the mother looks at him and smiles like it’s not a big deal that there’s a dinosaur sleeping with her babies.
Sarah says: I liked the penguin chapter when Gon went onto the mean bird’s feet and then all the penguins grabbed on Gon and it made the bird fall. I liked it but some of it’s really mean and it might teach kids bad lessons like beat each other up. They could read it if they won’t follow what’s in the book.
NEXT TIME: Great comic-related websites for kids -- games, Web comics, and more -- guaranteed to keep 'em outta your hair while you do, well, whatever.
E-MAIL AUTHOR
