I have wanted to read Two Vampire Cats by Jannie Ho for about two weeks now. Or ever since I saw the advanced reader copy I found. It is a silly book about two vampire cats, a ghost and their town. For the adult reader there isn’t a lot of bite, but for kids it is worth the reading trip. This is for about ages 5 to young 8-9. It works as a read aloud or a first solo read with help, and the older readers their first longer novel done as a graphic novel.
The cover does not do the illustrations justice. They will not be overly detailed but there will be more stuff filling in the pages. The color also seems to be a bit less orange and mixes the color scheme to not be “Halloween Only.” Still, it is about a couple of vampire cats who only eat and drink red foods. Like crab apples. Which you can sell, make into muffins or give away. But our two vampire cats want to make a little cash so they can buy the limited edition of the new comic that is all the rage, so they won’t be giving anything away. Or will they have too?
The story is simple and cute (the schemes they do to make money, the way they finally get their comic and community). The artwork is simple and cute. Everything is simple and cute. As I said there is not a lot of bite for the adult reader, but the aimed audience will want to read it again and more about our two vampire cats and friends. I am assuming that there will be more about our odd couple (Pumpkin a sweeter cat and Beetle the more scheming and grumpy cat) but this graphic novel isn’t due until mid-July 2025 so we’ll have to wait to see.
