The Big Book of Vampires

by Denise Despeyroux, Fernando Falcone (Illustrations)

A fabulously creepy collection of vampire lore for blood-thirsty little people. A perfect Hallowe'en collection! A bloody great collection of vampire stories from around the world, in a large, beautifully illustrated edition - a perfect keepsake.

Genres: Young Adult, Horror

112 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2012

About the author

Escritora y guionista uruguaya, Denise Despeyroux también ha destacado como dramaturga, actriz y directora teatral.

Residente en España desde hace varios años, Despeyroux ha participado en varias obras con gran éxito. Además, ha trabajado como traductora y ha publicado varios libros dedicados a un público infantil, como son ¡Atrévete a pensar! o El gran libro de las hadas.

En cuanto a la poesía, Despeyroux publicó en 2003 la antología Palabras de amor de Shakespeare.

Reviews

[Verity Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute to read! I really liked it!

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the eye-catching die cut cover depicting a baleful pair of red eyes staring through the silhouette of a bat, Despeyroux (”Dark Graphic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe,” and “The Big Book of Fairies”) has an affinity for gathering anthologies of arresting short stories with great appeal to secondary readers. “The Big Book of Vampires,” is no exception.

Gathered here are nine engaging adaptations (six- to eight- pages each) of outstanding terror/vampire stories representing authors of the genre from the 19th century. In addition to familiar tales, such as Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Despeyroux offers less familiar selections, such as Tolstoy’s “The Family of the Vurdalak,” Hoffmann’s “Vampirism,” thought to be the first tale where the vampire is of the nobility (and female!), as well as “Vampire’s Honor,” from “The Thousand and One Nights.” The stories span the globe, and stretch reader’s perception of the vampire genre and its origins.

Evocative and eerily disturbing illustrations by Fernando Falcone embellish the volume’s lavish layout and atmospheric palette. Falcone’s thin, misty figures carry the story when the text is too abbreviated (ex., Polidori’s “The Vampire”).

The prose, even though it has been adapted from the original 19th century manuscripts, is more Anne Rice than Stephenie Meyer in the telling. Though a little daunting, teens fascinated by vampires will find this an intriguing volume.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the hardest time trying to determine the intended age group for this book. After I gave that up and decided it's for everyone, it turned out to be a rockin' book. It includes both fictional vampires stories and legends from a variety of cultures. The artwork is somewhere between Coraline the movie and Tim Burton. The stories are each only a few pages, but would be neat to hand a nascent storyteller to practice with.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of famous vampire stories abbreviated for kids, plus some vampire folktales from around the world. The folktales were written better. The shortened version of the famous stories were definitely missing something. I think it's the difference between telling and showing in a story. The art was sufficiently creepy. Could be a good way to introduce these famous stories to older preteens who like scary.

[Maica Navarro]

Most of the short contents are very good and as well enough imaginable. I'd say, the catchy one is the "The Mount Wavel Castle". It really did mentioned what has have seen from the very castle. Quite the creepy but good.

[Cielbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

This is the first graphic novel that I owned. I like the stories very much! For a children's book, this is pretty much solid and interesting! I give it four and a half stars out of five. Buy it!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

For forthcoming VOYA review.