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Summary:
This short chapter book is the first installment in a series of books about the dread vampire bunny. Chester the cat and Harold the dog live a happy existence with their family, the Monroes, who have two boys, Toby and Pete. Their peaceful existence is shattered when the Monroes bring home an unexpected guest: a rabbit. Toby discovered the bunny when he sat on him during a viewing of a Dracula movie. Although, Mrs. Monroe initially wants to name him Fluffy, she eventually comes up with Bunnicula, which echoes the movie that was playing when the bunny was found. Chester in particular is not completely thrilled with this new interloper. After vegetables start appearing, mysteriously drained of all their juices, Chester gets suspicious. As the evidence piles up, Chester, through his research, concludes that Bunnicula is indeed a vampire. The rest of book describes the comedic hijinx that occur when Chester futilely attempts to warn both Harold and the Monroe family of the danger. Chester slathers himself with garlic, tries to act out a vampire scene, and eventually just attempts to starve poor Bunnicula to death. All of this has the opposite intended effect; instead of getting rid of Bunnicula, Chester comes under suspicion and even temporarily gets the boot outside. When Harold realizes Bunnicula being starved to death by Chester, he attempts to feed the little bugger and gets in an epic kerfuffle with Chester. The book ends with Bunnicula on a liquid diet, no more bleached vegetables, and Chester, recovering from therapy. Harold, narrator, leaves it up to the reader to decide whether Chester was right about Bunnicula or not.
APA Reference:
Howe, D., & Howe, J. (1979). Bunnicula: a rabbit-tale of mystery. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Impressions:
As a mystery, Bunnicula is a page-turner. The Howes’ frequent use of humor presents what could be some dark, sinister subject matter in a light-hearted tone. The writing is excellent, serving up crisp and precise word choices that exactly convey meaning and establish clear visual images in the reader’s mind. For example, Harold doesn’t just walk, he “saunters (Howe & Howe, 1979, p.xi). The Howes’ deft use of understatement quietly builds suspense and reveals the characters’ personalities, showing what they are like rather than telling the reader explicitly. For example, when Harold greets Chester, who is “grumpy” and “bleary-eyed,” we can infer that Chester has spent another long night without sleep trying to thwart Bunnicula’s supposedly evil machinations (Howe & Howe, 1979, p.25). This unwillingness to “dumb down” precise word choices or content is one of its most satisfying attributes. In fact, literary allusions abound in the book that will appeal to older readers, and perhaps kindle the curiosity of younger readers. For example, in Chapter #2, Chester reads Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (Howe & Howe, 1979, p.20).
Although the story is well-told, the scant illustrations that are included actually detract from the story rather than add to it. They serve no discernible purpose, other than to give kids something look at, or maybe make them feel less intimidated if this is their first chapter book.
As an animal lover, with two cats and a dog of my own, I readily identified with the personalities of Chester—aloof and suspicious-- and Howard—endearingly trusting. The characters’ human personalities reflect the proclivities of both cats and dogs in real-life, which I found endlessly amusing. Howard’s voice was especially well-adapted to his character. Even though he is a writer and keen observer of other characters, he is still a sucker for chocolate cupcakes and puts on a mean act when a steak is at stake.
Professional Review:
KIRKUS REVIEW
A talking-dog's story of a vampire rabbit. Uhuh, and this is not one of those madcap affairs that has no natural bounds. Dog Harold and his buddy, cat Chester, pride themselves on being ""rather special pets""; after all, Mr. Monroe is a college English professor and Mrs. M. is a lawyer and so everybody is treated with respect for their intelligence. Which isn't, truth to say, always in evidence. Mrs. M., for instance, wants to call every new animal Fluffy--including the bunny found in a shoebox in the movie theater when the family goes to see Dracula. But, voted down, she comes up with ""Bunny-cula. Bunnicula!"" And he not only bears a note in ""an obscure dialect of the Carpathian mountain region"" (intelligible only to Harold), he turns tomatoes, lettuce, even zucchini--white!!! Well, he must be sucking their juices out, Chester decides, ergo a vampire. Chester's efforts to starve poor Bunnicula--after his other attempts to alert the Monroes fail--give these goings-on some semblance of a plot. But it's a pretty feeble bit of foolishness (except, briefly, for the zucchini bit) which winds up with Bunnicula on a liquid diet that leaves no tell-tale signs. Was he or wasn't he? Your guess is as good as ours.
[Review of the book Bunnicula, by D. Howe & J. Howe]. (1979). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/deborah-james-howe-howe/bunnicula-a-rabbit-tale-of-mystery/
Library Uses:
Since Chester does a lot of his own research, kids might enjoy doing the same thing. Kids could research vampires, Transylvania, and maybe even vampire bats! Afterwards, they could create a digital presentation or collaborative web page to share their findings. Given the spooky nature of the book, this might be a great unit to do in the fall, right around Halloween. You could kick off the unit with some of the tunes from the Broadway musical version. In fact, you could take the musical aspect a step further to study how the book was transformed from the page to the musical stage. Then, working with the music department, kids could maybe choose another book or short story to develop their own musical, complete with scripts and songs. This alternative could culminate in a performance attended by students and parents.
This short chapter book is the first installment in a series of books about the dread vampire bunny. Chester the cat and Harold the dog live a happy existence with their family, the Monroes, who have two boys, Toby and Pete. Their peaceful existence is shattered when the Monroes bring home an unexpected guest: a rabbit. Toby discovered the bunny when he sat on him during a viewing of a Dracula movie. Although, Mrs. Monroe initially wants to name him Fluffy, she eventually comes up with Bunnicula, which echoes the movie that was playing when the bunny was found. Chester in particular is not completely thrilled with this new interloper. After vegetables start appearing, mysteriously drained of all their juices, Chester gets suspicious. As the evidence piles up, Chester, through his research, concludes that Bunnicula is indeed a vampire. The rest of book describes the comedic hijinx that occur when Chester futilely attempts to warn both Harold and the Monroe family of the danger. Chester slathers himself with garlic, tries to act out a vampire scene, and eventually just attempts to starve poor Bunnicula to death. All of this has the opposite intended effect; instead of getting rid of Bunnicula, Chester comes under suspicion and even temporarily gets the boot outside. When Harold realizes Bunnicula being starved to death by Chester, he attempts to feed the little bugger and gets in an epic kerfuffle with Chester. The book ends with Bunnicula on a liquid diet, no more bleached vegetables, and Chester, recovering from therapy. Harold, narrator, leaves it up to the reader to decide whether Chester was right about Bunnicula or not.
APA Reference:
Howe, D., & Howe, J. (1979). Bunnicula: a rabbit-tale of mystery. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Impressions:
As a mystery, Bunnicula is a page-turner. The Howes’ frequent use of humor presents what could be some dark, sinister subject matter in a light-hearted tone. The writing is excellent, serving up crisp and precise word choices that exactly convey meaning and establish clear visual images in the reader’s mind. For example, Harold doesn’t just walk, he “saunters (Howe & Howe, 1979, p.xi). The Howes’ deft use of understatement quietly builds suspense and reveals the characters’ personalities, showing what they are like rather than telling the reader explicitly. For example, when Harold greets Chester, who is “grumpy” and “bleary-eyed,” we can infer that Chester has spent another long night without sleep trying to thwart Bunnicula’s supposedly evil machinations (Howe & Howe, 1979, p.25). This unwillingness to “dumb down” precise word choices or content is one of its most satisfying attributes. In fact, literary allusions abound in the book that will appeal to older readers, and perhaps kindle the curiosity of younger readers. For example, in Chapter #2, Chester reads Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher (Howe & Howe, 1979, p.20).
Although the story is well-told, the scant illustrations that are included actually detract from the story rather than add to it. They serve no discernible purpose, other than to give kids something look at, or maybe make them feel less intimidated if this is their first chapter book.
As an animal lover, with two cats and a dog of my own, I readily identified with the personalities of Chester—aloof and suspicious-- and Howard—endearingly trusting. The characters’ human personalities reflect the proclivities of both cats and dogs in real-life, which I found endlessly amusing. Howard’s voice was especially well-adapted to his character. Even though he is a writer and keen observer of other characters, he is still a sucker for chocolate cupcakes and puts on a mean act when a steak is at stake.
Professional Review:
KIRKUS REVIEW
A talking-dog's story of a vampire rabbit. Uhuh, and this is not one of those madcap affairs that has no natural bounds. Dog Harold and his buddy, cat Chester, pride themselves on being ""rather special pets""; after all, Mr. Monroe is a college English professor and Mrs. M. is a lawyer and so everybody is treated with respect for their intelligence. Which isn't, truth to say, always in evidence. Mrs. M., for instance, wants to call every new animal Fluffy--including the bunny found in a shoebox in the movie theater when the family goes to see Dracula. But, voted down, she comes up with ""Bunny-cula. Bunnicula!"" And he not only bears a note in ""an obscure dialect of the Carpathian mountain region"" (intelligible only to Harold), he turns tomatoes, lettuce, even zucchini--white!!! Well, he must be sucking their juices out, Chester decides, ergo a vampire. Chester's efforts to starve poor Bunnicula--after his other attempts to alert the Monroes fail--give these goings-on some semblance of a plot. But it's a pretty feeble bit of foolishness (except, briefly, for the zucchini bit) which winds up with Bunnicula on a liquid diet that leaves no tell-tale signs. Was he or wasn't he? Your guess is as good as ours.
[Review of the book Bunnicula, by D. Howe & J. Howe]. (1979). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/deborah-james-howe-howe/bunnicula-a-rabbit-tale-of-mystery/
Library Uses:
Since Chester does a lot of his own research, kids might enjoy doing the same thing. Kids could research vampires, Transylvania, and maybe even vampire bats! Afterwards, they could create a digital presentation or collaborative web page to share their findings. Given the spooky nature of the book, this might be a great unit to do in the fall, right around Halloween. You could kick off the unit with some of the tunes from the Broadway musical version. In fact, you could take the musical aspect a step further to study how the book was transformed from the page to the musical stage. Then, working with the music department, kids could maybe choose another book or short story to develop their own musical, complete with scripts and songs. This alternative could culminate in a performance attended by students and parents.