Vampire Brat

Araminta Spook #4

by Angie Sage, Jimmy Pickering (Illustrator)

Araminta thinks something horrible is hiding in the deep, hidden passages of Spookie House—could it be a werewolf? Add to that the arrival of Uncle Drac's creepy nephew, Max, and Araminta knows things will never be the same. Max is Wanda's new best friend, and Araminta finds him annoying. She comes up with a plan to figure out what Max is up to—and also to capture the werewolf. But will it work?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Vampires, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Young Adult

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2007

About the author

Angie Sage (born 1952) is the author of the Septimus Heap series which includes Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke and Fyre. She also wrote the Todhunter Moon series, and the Magykal Papers, an additional book with extra information about Septimus' world. She is also the illustrator and/or writer of many children's books, and is the new writer of the Araminta Spookie series.

Angie Sage grew up in Thames Valley, London and Kent. Her father was a publisher. He would bring home blank books that she could fill with pictures and stories. Sage first studied medicine, but changed her mind and went to Art School in Leicester. There she studied Graphic Design and Illustration. She began illustrating books after college. Then she progressed to writing children stories, including toddler books and chapter books. Her first novel was Septimus Heap: Magyk. Angie Sage is married and has two daughters, Laurie and Lois.

Reviews

[Holly Glem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a little slower than the others for me, but still cute and in the same vein. We predicted what was going to happen and were correct, only one surprise about Pusskins which was fun!


J - 3.5 stars - (spoiler alert) "I liked that the vampire brat wasn't actually that much of a brat"

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampire Brat was an entertaining and witty read. The story centres around Araminta Spook (who could be described as a brat herself) and the inhabitants of her home, Spook House. When Pusskins the cat vanishes, a search party is deployed to locate her. Always the rebel, Araminta decides not to waste time looking for the cat but instead goes on her own adventure and stumbles upon a werewolf in the basement. Soon afterwards, some frightening family members arrive for a visit. One of them is Vampire Max who shortly becomes an object of Araminta's scorn and fascination. Determined to capture both the werewolf and dangerous little Max, she sets off on a mission with her unwilling friend Wanda.

It is apparent throughout the story that Araminta is quite self-centred and does not seem to consider the opinion or feelings of others. This book could therefore be useful in helping children understand aspects of friendship when considering Wanda's position in her friendship with Araminta. I do think the story could have been a more suspenseful at times but the suspense that did occur presented a good opportunity to invite children to use their imagination and predict the next sequence of events. I think the frequency of illustration was adequate for the age range and I even found myself enjoying them. This book is best suited to 6-10 year olds and possibly best for independent reading as I have a feeling that girls may be more interested in this book than boys.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleanor says: my favorite part was when they found a vampire. Except that’s not really what happened. But this book was very funny. We laughed a lot. My Gobby liked this book too. That is what I call my grandma.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Miss loves these stories. I've been reading her this one at bedtime.

It was a fun mystery, although certain questions were never answered. Amusing too. Little Miss loved it.

Although- I'm not sure that Little Miss is getting some of the implied messages. These books are from Araminta's distinctly flawed perspective. One thing I wonder is, if Little Miss is understanding that when Araminta says negative things about her best friend Wanda, they aren't fully accurate, but instead show us how self-centered Araminta is.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Araminta and her cousin, 2 aunts and 2 uncles live in The Spookie House - a gothic haunted house. After a hearse arrives, The Spookie House has the addition of her cousin Max who might be a “bad” vampire. Araminta is determined to expose her cousin and catch the werewolf who lurks in the basement. Araminta is an enjoyable character. This is a good read for girls who want a scary book that is not very scary.

No reviews found.

[Kevin Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

was ok butit did get boring. the best part was there would be a good part and it would get very interesting

[Kira Nerys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely read this at some point in the past. I am still fascinated at how Araminta's world seems both utterly normal and fully fantastical--there are ghosts, that's firmly established by this 4th book, but it also sort of seems like everything that might be magical is actually Araminta's imagination? Sage creates each book around a balancing act of how desperately Araminta wants ghosts, vampires, and werewolves to be real, and how they probably aren't. I mean, except the ghosts.

I really enjoy how odd and unique the series' vibes are. I think Pickering's illustrations do a lot to enhance that mysterious, Addams-family-esque atmosphere. Araminta herself is such a wonderful protagonist for a children's novel: her sense of adventure and vivid imagination will connect with any child exploring these books. The whimsical Spookie books definitely occupy a small place in my heart.

[rita ♡₊⊹]

I read this book when I was a child, I bought it in second hand yesterday! I was looking around and I spotted the book and thought "aww cute a children's vampire book" and realized I remembered the cover and some of the illustrations bc I had actually read it when I was a child (I love this stuff since I was young as you can see) so I had to bring it home and give it a reread- their lines are so funny

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one likes it when their best friend gets a new best friend and minty is no exception. Vampire Brat was a very cute early chapter book. It has a lot of the same spooky twists as the rest of the series. I did notice that the chapters are getting longer in length which might make it a little trickier for emergent readers. Very fun book all around though

[EllaTheReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I found that it wasn't my favourite style of book and I think I might have a try at reading the other books in this series

[Britt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read other books in this series. They are cute spooky reads for kids and preteens, but always seem like regurgitated material I’ve seen elsewhere.

[Daciana Washburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated by my kids because it was exciting, mysterious, interesting and scary (per my kids)

[fanboyriot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute as well, like the rest of the series that I’ve read so far. These books are fun to read.

[Adam Stanhope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Another great little story, easy to read and great characters , you enjoy following the adventures of the characters around the spooky house

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super-cute. I would love to do this as a read-aloud. Love the characters, and the 1st person storytelling is spot on.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5

[Karyme Azocar]

its a good book and its easy to read

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is so charming! The first two are stronger stories for me, but I so enjoyed this. Angie Sage is amazing!

[KodokHijau10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Spooky finaly found her werewolf.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Araminta Spookie series by Angie Sage. I discovered this book at our local library and thought it might be a fun, spooky read for our oldest. She loved it and has read through the entire series very quickly. Now I'm just trying to catch up.

This story centers on the household's efforts to find Brenda's cat, Pusskins, as well as the arrival of Uncle Drac's nephew, Max. The story is entertaining and exciting and the deadpan humor is snort-out-loud funny. It's an easy read and I really enjoyed reading it. I'm looking forward to the last book in the series, Ghostsitters.

interesting quotes:

"Last month Aunt Tabby told him that he had to decide between her and the bats, but Uncle Drac took so long trying to make up his mind that Aunt Tabby decided to forget that she had said anything and the bats stayed--and so did she." (p. 47)

"You should never take candy from a vampire." (p. 76)

[Donald Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Araminta Spookie is in for a double dose of trouble in book four of the popular children's series; not only has she discovered what appears to be a werewolf hiding deep in the basement of Spookie House - almost worse, she is forced to deal with a visit by her Uncle Drac's nephew Max, a tiny, creepy little suck-up with stiletto-sharp fangs coming out the corners of his mouth, who seems to win over her entire family - even Wanda! - with his over-the-top, syrupy, obviously (to Araminta) butt-kissing ways! So what's a girl to do but come up with a combination Werewolf and Vampire Trapping Kit, which Araminta is determined to use to catch Max doing something evil, as well as prove to her family and Wanda that there's a werewolf loose in the house. Though I felt the ending was a bit weak with this one, everything is in place regarding the humor, story, and mystery of this entry in the series to keep readers happy. And again, there's just something so darned endearing about Araminta; so much so, I have only one more to read before completing the series to date ... and will be sorry to have it done. ****

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My thoughts} – Araminta’s cousin Max ends up coming to stay with them at the Spookie House. While he is there Araminta and Wanda both jump to conclusions about him being a vampire and they go on an adventure and follow him around in the middle of the night. They hope that they can catch him doing vampire like things and then trap him.

Aside from following him around and trying to trap him they also are trying to trap a werewolf that Araminta swears she has been seeing in the basement.

Wanda doesn’t seem really interested on this nightly quest with Araminta but she goes along with it or is more or less forced into going along with it. All is well that ends well though in the case of this story.

I really do enjoy these books, they are nice fast reads and I am certain any child that picks them up will learn to love them. The stories are entertaining and they go hand and hand with one another. You can either read them in order or separately because the new things learned are usually explained in the newer books. I look forward to starting the next book in the series.

[babyhippoface · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so glad to finally be finished with this one. It wasn't horrible. It just wasn't... compelling, let's say. I really didn't care if I ever found out what sort of critter those scary glowing-in-the-dark-like-a-werewolf eyes were attached to.

There is nothing frightening here. All the vampires and such have mellowed out. As Uncle Drac tells Araminta: "You mustn't believe all those old stories. No one bites people anymore. Not even my mother, ha ha." So it wasn't scary, and it wasn't funny, it was just...there. I desperately needed something in the book to get my attention.

Angie Sage made her mark with Septimus Heap, so she's definitely got talent. Maybe I just missed the point on this one. I'll give it to a 3rd grader and see what she thinks of it....

[Sherdley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was about a dark and gloomy life style.Ther is a little girl called Araminta and she goes to live with her auntie and uncle who are vampiers. Her and here younger sister find out that here auntie and uncle are vampieres.She has a cousin who is also a young vampiere to .He is called max they call him Max Million Who Araminta finds out that he is a vampier. Here and her younger sister get up to allot of mischeif in in the haunted ,scarey castle. they sneek around and watch a load of horror movies.


I really liked the book it was just my type .I like books that have scary but not horrorfying description. The book had a lot of vivid description in. My type of books are like vampiere books they send shivers down people's spines.

Revewed by NJ AGE 10

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Araminta Spook changes careers even more frequently than I do and in this book we find that Detectives are old hat - Werewolf huntering is in! The cat's gone missing and there's a werewolf in the basement and as if that wasn't enough, Max Drac, one of Ariminta's cousins visits and all the evidence suggests he's a Vampire Brat with an appetite for blood!

Typical Araminta style mayhem ensues and by the end of the book the mysteries of the missing cat, the werewolf and the Vampire Brat are all solved and it is finally confirmed that Uncle Drac is definitely a vampire, too.

You've got to chuckle, but I'm a bit worried by Araminta's outburst of good behaviour at the end!

[Rebecca]

Vampire Brat is a neat little story. It's a very short read and wouldn't take very long to read at all.
The storyline is a really good one. It's quite simple and everything ties up nicely at the end.
I am a huge fan of the character Araminta, she's so oblivious to the fact that she's really rude to some people and she has the wildest imagination ever. All this adds up to some pretty good times.
Overall, Vampire Brat is a good, light read. It's suited for younger readers but older readers can read it and enjoy it too. As I do. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to read it really. It's quite different and a change of pace compared to young adult novels.

[Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vampire Brat In book 4 of the Araminta Spookie series, Uncle Drac's mother shows up with two of her great-cousins, Max and Mahtilda. Max is going to stay with Araminta for a while which would normally be great since Wanda and Max are already getting along, the only problem is that Araminta is convinced Max is a dangerous Vampire. On top of now having a vampire living in her home, Araminta has encountered a werewolf in the home and no one believes her! She must come up with a plan to capture both the vampire and the werewolf before anyone gets hurt.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:
Araminta thinks something horrible is hiding in the deep, hidden passages of Spookie House—could it be a werewolf? Add to that the arrival of Uncle Drac's creepy nephew, Max, and Araminta knows things will never be the same. Max is Wanda's new best friend, and Araminta finds him annoying. She comes up with a plan to figure out what Max is up to—and also to capture the werewolf. But will it work?

Review:
This one has a quirky and fun little twist in it.

[Beth A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one out loud to my daughter. She loved it. The story was cute and funny in an absurd way.

Although- I'm not sure that she got the implied messages. These books are from Araminta's distinctly flawed perspective. I'm not sure she understands that when Araminta says negative things about her best friend, Wanda, they aren't fully accurate, but instead show us how self-centered Araminta is.

Anyway, these are really fun read-together books.

[Joenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4 of Aramnita Spookie. This time, Araminta swears there is a werewolf on the loose. Not only that, but her long-lost cousins come to visit, and Araminta thinks the youngest one is a vampire. She creates the "Werewolf and Vampire Kit" and plans to catch both the werewolf and vampire in the act!