Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Book and Audiobook Review of Bunnicula: A Rabbit-tale of Mystery by James and Deborah Howe; Audiobook Narrated by Victor Garber

Silliness abounds in this story that revolves around a vampiric bunny (who "bleeds" vegetables so dry they turn white) and the family dog and cat whose reception of said bunny is not exactly warm and fuzzy.
We read this book for a homeschool kid's book club that my girls have become involved with. We also listened to the audiobooks that were so wonderfully read by Victor Garber (who played Jack Bristow in Alias, Professor Callahan in Legally Blond, etc.) He has a beautifully rich voice that gives the perfect blend of hilarity and drama to the story.
This is my new favorite book, about a family who finds a bunny at a Dracula movie, of all places. Harold, the dog (who narrates the story) finds a note attached to the bunny written in an obscure Carpathian dialect, and because Harold is a Russian wolfhound, he can read it. Harold and Chester the cat get suspicious about the bunny, whom the family names Bunnicula.
I like it because the main characters are animals. It's sort of a mystery. It's interesting to read because the boys in the story argue like my sister and I do. And the cat is smart but crazy.

You can read more tales about Bunnicula, Harold, and Chester:
Howliday Inn
The Celery Stalks at Midnight
Nighty-Nightmare
Return to Howliday Inn
Bunnicula Strikes Again
Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allen Crow

3 comments:

  1. I just got out my copy of BUNNICULA yesterday in preparation for Halloween reading. I’ve never listened to the audio version, but it sounds like I should.

    Thanks, too, for the reminder about the most recent book in the series. I meant to read it when it came out, but I never got around to it.

    There’s also a wonderful spin-off series, TALES FROM THE HOUSE OF BUNNICULA. The books are written as Howie’s creative writing journal. He hilariously struggles with craft and revision issues. I think there are six altogether.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for letting me know about the spin-off series; I hadn't heard of them but they sound like fun reading.

    I hope you'll post some of your Halloween reading on your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Penny C. Monster is organizing our group’s Halloween reading recommendation list. We hope to have it posted by the first week in October. I don’t go for the scary books she likes. I prefer not to have to sleep with a light on. BUNNICULA is right up my alley.

    ReplyDelete