Hampire!

by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, Howard Fine (Illustrator)

Overview

On the farm, the critters knew,
At night while they were sleeping,
Past barn and pens,
Past lambs and hens,
A HAMPIRE went out creeping.

One dark night when Duck can’t sleep, he ventures out in search of the perfect midnight snack. But when he runs into the dreaded Hampire, the chase is on, all across the farm! Will Duck—and his snacks—make it safely back to bed?

From author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and illustrator Howard Fine comes this madcap barnyard adventure, perfect for reading aloud.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061142390
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/26/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for children, including Pirate Princess, illustrated by Jill McElmurry; Hampire!, illustrated by Howard Fine; and Tightrope Poppy the High-Wire Pig, illustrated by Sarah Dillard. Sudipta lives in New Jersey with her family.

Howard Fine has illustrated many award-winning picture books, including Dinosailors and Piggie Pie! He has three children and a number of pets. All three children like to draw.

Editorial Reviews

As in James Howe's Bunnicula, the star of this vampire picture book is a vegetarian—but his fellow farm animals don't know that. They think that the Hampire is a skulking, giant hog vampire, and Fine (Piggie Pie!) includes plenty of ominous blue shadows, a terrified Guernica-like pony, and a closeup of the "red droplets" the Hampire leaves on the grass (the Hampire himself is an ominous delight, a massive, porcine, Lugosi-style predator). The sometimes scary illustrations are leavened by the slapstick that ensues when a duck decides he'll risk getting a midnight snack. The farm animals end up cornered, before realizing that the Hampire is more interested in the tray of sweets the duck has been carrying. Building suspense and a sense of nocturnal dread, Bardhan-Quallen's (The Hog Prince) rhymes are filled with puns (" ‘We're sitting ducks,' the duck announced"), and the antics of the frantic duck and the animals he rouses should have readers laughing. Younger readers, though, will likely need knowledge or explanation of the conventions of vampire lore to fully appreciate the joke. Ages 4–8. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Building suspense and a sense of nocturnal dread, Bardhan-Quallen’s (The Hog Prince) rhymes are filled with puns (’”We’re sitting ducks,” the duck announced’), and the antics of the frantic duck and the animals he rouses should have readers laughing.” — Publishers Weekly

“Kids will feast on this deliciously scary tale over and over. ” — Kirkus Reviews

“Fine’s paintings exaggerate the animals’ terror to comic effect (funniest is the pony cowering in the corner), and his canted angles give this just the right absurdist tone.” — ALA Booklist

“A deliciously macabre choice for a not-too-spooky classroom read-aloud.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Fine’s paintings exaggerate the animals’ terror to comic effect (funniest is the pony cowering in the corner), and his canted angles give this just the right absurdist tone.

ALA Booklist

K-Gr 3—While pandering a bit to our culture's obsession with vampires, this offering really hams it up. The farm animals sleep fitfully in the barn each night, petrified of the marauding Hampire. In the light of day, their fears are confirmed by gooey red droplets of evidence on the grass. The dramatic highlights and shadows of the painted illustrations increase the feeling of suspense when Duck decides one evening that he must have a midnight doughnut snack. His contorted facial expressions as he flees from the caped porker add a sense of urgency and believability. Readers will feel relief when they discover that the pig is not, in fact, trying to make a Duck-size snack, but desperate for a jelly doughnut. The menacing red evidence on the lawn isn't blood, but jelly filling. The creepy cadence of the rhyme scheme will take a few practice runs before sharing it in storytime. Fine is a master of painted porcine grins, assuring that fans of Margi Palatini's Piggie Pie! (Clarion, 1995) and Kelly DiPucchio's Bed Hogs (Hyperion, 2004) will not be disappointed. A deliciously macabre choice for a not-too-spooky classroom read-aloud.—Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

Bardhan-Quallen spins a yarn equally suitable for a campfire gathering or a fireplace cuddle.

The rhyming text's ominous tone hooks readers right away: "On the farm, the critters knew / At night, while they were sleeping, / Past barn and pens, / Past lambs and hens, / a HAMPIRE went out creeping." The animals at the farm know not to go out at night for fear of becoming the scary beast's prey. But when Duck cannot sleep due to a rumble in his tummy, "[h]e sat up with a quack. / 'It's risky, yes, / But I confess— / I need a midnight snack.' " Duck plods to the kitchen just as the Hampire wakes up. What follows is a great chase captured moment by exciting moment in Fine's realistic depictions. Causing edge-of-the-seat anxiety and giddy giggles, the hilarious action scenes show Duck making off with his overflowing platter of sweets, while super-oversized Hampire follows close on his tail. Soon Red Chicken and Pony get caught up in the adventure. Fine expertly conveys the panic and terror in the poor animals' faces. Screaming beaks gape wide, Pony frantically struggles to keep the barn door closed and Red folds wings in desperate prayer—all serve to convince readers that this is a most dire situation. But there's a surprise: Hampire proudly states that he's "no barbarian / ...and when I dine, / I'm always vegetarian."

Kids will feast on this deliciously scary tale over and over.(Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews