What Is the Story of Dracula?

What Is the Story Of?

by Michael Burgan, David Malan (Illustrations), Who HQ

Find out how Dracula--a smooth-talking count with a dark secret--became the infamous creature we all know and fear.

From appearances in films and animated features to interpretations as a Muppet and breakfast cereal mascot, Dracula has been the inspiration for many other fictional vampires and is now an established figure in pop culture.

Created by Bram Stoker in his 1897 Gothic horror novel, Count Dracula is a nobleman who uses his powers as a vampire to dominate his victims. Even though Dracula didn't succeed in the novel, the fictional character has lived on to dominate the real world as one of its most popular supernatural villains.

Author Michael Burgan explores Dracula's mysterious origins in the historical figures who might have shaped the character, as well as the films and actors that cemented Dracula's place in cinematic history.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Education, History, Childrens, Juvenile

112 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2020

Reviews

[debbicat *made of stardust*]

A great little book with some vampire history and some info about Bram Stoker. I am reading a Stoker book right now for our local book club and saw this at BAM the other day. Picked it up for a few bucks with my teacher discount. I enjoyed it.

[Megan Griffin]

This book has very interesting facts. Great read.

[Thompson McLeod]

A fascinating, easy-to-read account of a real life person in history that Bram Stoker based his famous story on. Dracula means "son of Dracul" and has two meanings: devil or dragon in the language of a small village of Wallachia, Romania. Stoker had grown up with stories of zombies and the living dead as a boy in rural Ireland, and he was fascinated by tales of folklore. The fact that Stoker made Dracula a Count gave his title character access available to uncommon wealth, castles and land. Dracula could easily move about the country without raising any questions. Stoker's story was not a huge hit in his lifetime, but many versions of Dracula have made the story live on after his death, becoming more famous on stage, in books and on film.

Considered the most famous version is the performance by Bela Lugosi in 1931. Lugosi stands as the epitome of the character. Today, Dracula and vampires are still popular culture. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," books by Anne Rice, and the "Twilight" series are proof that Count Dracula and Stoker's legacy lives on.

Highly recommended for reluctant readers, chapter book readers, emerging readers, ELL, and anyone who loves the horror genre and vampires. Grade 5 and up.

See all my reviews at Young Adult Books What We're Reading Now

[ashes ➷]

This was very sweet! I hadn’t read these things in forever and was excited to see how they fared; I’m happy to say that this one was just as concise and impressive as I remembered. In particular, the retelling of the story of Dracula here (the book contains not only that but a substantial amount of helpful context for the book, the film, the author, and so on) is marvelously condensed for new readers.

If I had to be nitpicky, of course I’m going to say I find it uncomfortable that no mention was made of the racism in the book, but that’s a dicey subject. The question is, are we more worried about white children finding out racism exists or nonwhite children knowing it exists and being ignored? I know we’ve largely sided with the former, and it would be difficult to phrase all these things correctly, but given the success of the rest of the book I wish they would try.

Would recommend: to small children who are into vampires! It really is a great intro and reminds me of how much I love books dedicated to making various subjects accessible to children. And, of course, those of us who are interested in Dracula but only have half an hour to get wise.

[Nancy]

Entertaining in a creepy way, now I need to go read a few joke books!

[Harry Washburn]

I had been waiting for my mom to order the original Dracula book for me. And so when I saw What Is The Story Of Dracula at Barnes and Noble, I decided to read it. I finished it, and now I want to read it even more!

[Colin Mathews]

The is truly educational and a very enjoyable read about how the character of Dracula became such a sensational character, not only as the world’s most famous vampire but one of the most famous characters in all of horror. It gives the background of Bram Stoker and how he wrote Dracula and how it became a book and it also talks about how it became a film, play etc. If you love horror, vampires, reading or film, this is a fun little read that will teach you a lot about it.

[Mary Jo]

I haven't written a review for most of these Who Are and What Was books, but I really liked this one. All of these books of course are short and missing pieces to their "histories," but are nice little beginner steps of information. They get you interested in a topic and provide enough insight into various subjects to make you want to research more. Great for the young historian, sparking a love of history.

I wish that this particular snippet would have included more info on Vlad Tapes (Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula) and how there is an actual real vampire culture lurking in the shadows today. I loved the movie coverage and how this book went through the film adaptations of Bram Stoker's book Dracula. It worked very well. For someone who has studied and always loved Gothic literature, this was fun.

[Brian Paquin]

I enjoyed this quick read. This is nonfiction that tells the story of Dracula from it's origins of Bram Stoker's novel through some film adaptations. Short chapters, interesting tidbits of information, some illustrations,and a timeline is even included in the back of the book. There is not much to say about this though. I mean, it's a pretty quick read and interesting if you want to know a bit more about Dracula. It's what you would expect it to be. I did find it interesting and found out some stuff I didn't know. I was surprised that the author left out a reference to Stephen King's Salem's Lot, but did mention Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire. Overall, I did enjoy this. I loved learning about the "penny dreadfuls" and some of the actors who portrayed Dracula. Also, I found the Nosferatu info about the film interesting too.

[Chloe Alicia]

When I saw this book my mom had gotten at the library, I was excited to finally read the book Dracula(I know; I probably HAVE been living under a rock to not know the Count’s story.)
Anyway, I should have known that I wouldn’t get the whole vampire story in a Who Was book. It mostly talked about the making of the early Dracula movies and the author creating the vampire book. This Who Was should’ve been called Who Was Bram Stoker(the author of Dracula). This Who Was did briefly mention the actual story of Dracula, but the key word being ‘briefly.’
All in all, this book was still interesting BUT. I will admit I was more interested in the actual story of Dracula than how much Universal Studios earned off the movie.

[Sundee Perkins]

I am a huge Bram Stoker fan, and of all the gothic horror villians, Dracula is my favorite. When I was studying in Ireland, I actually went to the Bram Stoker Museum in Clontarf. To me, Dracula is this perfect combination of suave gentleman and crazed psychopath, bent on survival no matter the odds.

This volume of WhoHQ was wonderful! I love how it talked about Bram Stoker and his journey in writing Dracula, from the early influences of his mother to researching Vlad Tepes and the changes that later occured. It also gave me a great new reading list! There were a lot of different books referenced, which I intend to look up.

[Sarah]

Language: G
Romance/Sex: G
Violence: G
Appropriate Age: 6+
Triggers/Warnings:

For a children's/middle grade series the Who Was... books are pretty good and I think this one was extra interesting and well done. Short, interesting, extensive in all the right areas. Even taught me things I didn't know as an adult that has researched some on this subject before. Then again, I could also be bias because I do love Dracula, the novel.

[Andy Hickman]

What is the Story of Dracula?, Michael Burgan
Really good series. This time, the iconic lord of vampires.
Just like their book on Frankenstein they do a great job in giving background context and ongoing influence on modern popular culture and where the trajectory differs from the original novel. ****

[Tiff Setzler]

I liked that it was a timeline break down with sketches to help put a name to the face or poster referencing.

It was nice a nice simple breakdown as well, to spark more interest in a certain era without overwhelming you with information.

Nice quick read to have in a bag for when in the go, a lot of braking points.

[Karthika]

This is the first horror related book I read. I am scared of the genre. This was a good introduction for me as I now know what is the story. I will try to read the original now. This book was super cute.

[Catherine]

This was interesting and told about actors who played Dracula back in the day, as well as gave information about Bram Stoker. I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to read Dracula, but I enjoyed learning about the journey of the story.

[Gabriel Benitez]

Se trata de un libro informativo para chicos sobre el personaje de Drácula en el libro y en los diferentes medios donde se ha adaptado su obra: cine, radio y televisión. Pero le faltó mencionar la versión al español que produjo la Universal y los comics de La tumba de Drácula que publicó Marvel.

[Chrysti Becker]

So interesting. I enjoyed learning more about Bram Stoker, the variations of the book as well as movies and the actors. The book covered other famous writers of the time. It was fun to learn how they were all connected. Tiny but mighty with so many details.

[Vidyuth Gowtham]

read

[Lisa D]

Loved it!

[Rebecca Brown]

As a lover of Dracula and horror in general, this was a fun, quick read!

[Alex]

Loved this one!

[Tina]

Maybe this book will inspire me to finally finish the Dracula book which I have been reading off and on since September.

[Kristi Clemow]

I enjoyed the way they presented the story - it convinced me to put the original on my list to read.