Okay, I admit, Vampire Vacation is a little cheesy. But it is a fun and adorable cheesy! The idea of “trying something new” has been done before, but the twist is that this time Fang (a young, sassy vampire boy) wants his parents to try something new. Which is, not to take the same old family trip to Transylvania (even though the brochure promises it never gets old, Fang disagrees). Even with the several false starts in the attempts by Fang in Laura Lavoie’s picture book, Fang does whatever he can to try and convince his parents they need a change. They need to surf, have fun in the sun and do things that his friends do during the summer. But is that possible? Can he convince his family to take a chance?
Spoiler: of course, we the adult reader know that yes, Fang’s parents will see the light and decide to try a beach vacation. It is the getting there that is the fun part. And there are adorably sweet, funny, goofy, brightly colored, and cleverly detailed images from Micah Player to round out the adventure.
While this book might not become a classic it will most likely become a favorite of your child. Working well for a read aloud situation or a one-on-one reading, this is a great book for ages (strong listener) three and up. And due to the ending of the story, there is a not-so-subtle hint that we just might see Fang and his family again come wintertime.
