Bob the Vampire Snail

by Andrea Zuill

Overview

In this hilarious and heartwarming picture book, join Bob the vampire snail as he embraces his unique love of tomatoes, discovers new and peculiar sleeping talents, and forms an unexpected friendship.

"A work that young readers can sink their teeth into." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Did you know all snails are named Bob? It's a fact! And this is the story of one of those Bobs and the night his life changed forever. First, he heard a SCREAM... then a C-R-A-C-K... and then he felt a drip, drip, drip... and then, poof! He was a vampire snail.

Fangs? Check. No reflection? Check. Wings? You bet. And so Bob, now very different from all the other Bobs, sets out to live life as a vampire snail, discovering his knack for sleeping upside down and his taste for tomatoes. He's alone in his vampire-ness, until one day Bob meets someone very similar....

Endearing and laugh-out-loud funny, this is a story about individuality, friendship, and tomatoes, as only beloved creator Andrea Zuill can tell it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593814987
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/05/2025
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

ANDREA ZUILL is the author-illustrator of Gustav is Missing!, a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year and an Indie Next Selection; Sweety, a Booklist Best Book of the Year; and Wolf Camp, a Children’s Choice Award finalist. Andrea is the illustrator of Dog vs. Strawberry by Nelly Buchet, which received three starred reviews; Donut by Laura Gehl, a Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Selection; and Cat Dog Dog by Nelly Buchet, winner of the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in California, Texas, and New York.

Editorial Reviews

★ "Bob’s journey from basic gastropod to bat-like Nosferatu, delivered with Mad magazine–worthy laughs, is a work that young readers can sink their teeth into." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "The humor, comics styling, and facts will make this a sure bet with the Disgusting Critters crowd, and future Bunnicula fans will slurp it up." —Booklist, starred review

"[B]oth funny and surprisingly touching. A marvelous method for encouraging even the smallest weirdos to find their people." —Kirkus Reviews

"This unlikely vampire tale is excellent ­Halloween fun." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2025-05-03
An existence of pleasingly dull normality is upended when a gastropod becomes a creature of the night.

Bob lives an uneventful snail life until one evening, after a series of sounds—a scream, three stomps, a crack, a drip, and a “POOF!”—he finds himself utterly changed. Bob is now a vampire! He’s also an outcast among the other snails (“He seems so complicated”), and he must figure out all the things a vampire can and cannot do. When he finally realizes that sucking tomatoes dry is his wont (a nod to James and Deborah Howe’sBunnicula, perhaps?) and that he can flyand hypnotize rats into getting him more food, he perks up. Still, he doesn’t really have a friend. Will he ever find one? Zuill’s natural propensity for hilarity shines strong and true, particularly in the artwork—a blend of realism and cartoonish fun. Adding to the visual jokes and snappy text, a small bug offers context on vampires for young readers, the occasional snail fact, and some zippy commentary (“I’m not sure it’s good for anyone to try to eat a bear unless you’re a professional”). Dedicated to “all those kids who, like me, prefer their books a little bit spooky,” it may fill that need, but it will find its true calling in those autumnal storytimes in need of something both funny and surprisingly touching.

A marvelous method for encouraging even the smallest weirdos to find their people.(Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews