"With Halloween still fresh in the minds of children, Long’s use of monsters to portray a family Thanksgiving is ingenious. . . . This engaging picture book celebrates the gathering of family and friends; helping young readers to understand and appreciate the value of giving thanks." - School Library Journal
"Long's graphite pencil and digitally colored illustrations are packed with gross-out details that will have kids in stitches." - Kirkus Reviews
"This cast of Halloween characters is more adorable than scary. This family-oriented tale will have life through several holidays." - Booklist
"Holidays don’t always go as planned, Long asserts, and that’s okay." - Publishers Weekly
"Long's digitally colored graphite-pencil illustrations amp up the humor." - Horn Book Magazine
"Long's sense of comic timing is utter perfection. Hysterically plays on kids' stereotyped notions of love, hopefully putting some to rest." - Starred review, Kirkus Review on VALENSTEINS
"There are lots of laughs to be found in Long’s twilit cartoons and the banter among the characters" - Publishers Weekly on VALENSTEINS
"Long’s dark, ghostly palette sets an appropriately eerie mood, and he has a lot of fun with the cuddly animals’ reign of terror. . . . Don’t worry about what goes bump in the night, Long seems to suggest—daylight can be plenty scary, too." - Starred review, Publishers Weekly on FRIGHT CLUB
"Long delivers an original story full of droll humor while also introducing the concept of questioning stereotypes and rules. . . . Long ably proves that ‘when it comes to scaring, the more the merrier.' " - Kirkus Reviews on FRIGHT CLUB
"Silly but entertaining." - School Library Journal on FRIGHT CLUB
"It’s a funny Halloween concept that delivers." - The Horn Book on FRIGHT CLUB
"The lighthearted tone makes this Halloween tale a perfect pick for younger children. Monster names such as Virginia Wolf and Mumford N. Suns will entertain the adults as well." - Booklist on FRIGHT CLUB
07/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Vlad the Vampire's family can not forego the family drama and spectacle of creating the perfect Thanksgiving, in this silly take on holiday dinner. Vlad and his friends from Fright Club—Witch, Ghost, Mummy, and Frankenstein—have been busy all night preparing the perfect Thanksgiving for Vlad's family. However, when the family arrive they have a different ideas about meal preparation that include eyeballs, earwax, maggot meatballs, and other unappetizing treats. When the lights go out, Spike, the family's monstrous dog, devours everything, "Thanksgiving was gone!" This is the last straw for Vlad and he loses his cool, proclaiming the Vampire Family, "ruined Thanksgiving." With Halloween still fresh in the minds of children, Long's use of monsters to portray a family Thanksgiving is ingenious. Similar to Valensteins and Fright Club, Long utilized a dark palette to create an ironic mood; however the monstrous characters are portrayed in a nonthreatening way for young readers. VERDICT This engaging picture book celebrates the gathering of family and friends; helping young readers to understand and appreciate the value of giving thanks.—Jewelee Painter, Springfield Elementary School, Rilleyville, VA
2018-06-25
Long and his bevy of monsters tackle yet another holiday in this look at the family angst that is a natural part of Thanksgiving. All is going swimmingly for the friends—cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet-potato casserole, turkey; each made by a different monster—until Vladimir's extended vampire family unexpectedly drops in. Uncle Gus, Aunt Bessy, and Joey and Schmoey are welcomed with arms open wide to the friends' feast, but then the meddling begins. Aunt Bessy shrinks from the garlic in the mashed potatoes, Uncle Gus has his own way of cooking the turkey, and the Siamese twins "help" Fran with the pumpkin pie, adding maggot meatballs. The pic of everyone gathered around the table says it all: Vladimir's family looks pleased; his friends look uncertain and a bit dismayed. As in many households, the inevitable explosion of tempers is triggered, but this one is quickly resolved in a flurry of re-dos and cooperation before a satisfying (and slightly more palatable) Friday feast. Long's graphite pencil and digitally colored illustrations are packed with gross-out details that will have kids in stitches, and the body language and facial expressions are clearly 100 percent human even if the characters aren't. Gus' electrifying turkey-cooking machine, which recalls the electric chair, may be a bit over-the-top even for this series, though. A (mostly) typical Thanksgiving: family, lumpy mashed potatoes, arguments, and all. (Picture book. 3-7)
