Dear Vampire

by Nancy Kelly Allen, John Babcock

Frankie's school is celebrating an animal day parade. His classmates say that vampires aren't real, but he knows they are. Frankie writes letters seeking information to numerous blood-suckers. He asks for help in deciding which scary, creepy vampire to be. The hand-written letters of response are packed with fun-filled facts, which Frankie meticulously displays on his corkboard. Each of the personalized corresponding letters is woven into illustrations of their natural habitat. Which will he/she choose?

Discover that although vampires are often overlooked, they are always nearby! From kissing bugs to candiru, enter the world of vampires--real vampires.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2022

About the author

Nancy Kelly Allen’s route to award-winning writing has more twists and turns than a winding mountain road. She worked as a social worker and elementary school teacher. When Nancy changed career paths once again and became a school librarian, the route led her straight to the world of picture books. Nancy spent her days introducing books to children and her nights writing books for children. Eventually, writing led her down the trail to publication. Nancy has seven picture books, one chapter book, and is working on more. Writing children’s books led her down another path: writing books for adults. Her first book for adults is told from the perspective of a child and spiced with humor.
Nancy grew up in Kentucky where storytelling is a way of life. Every evening after supper, her father entertained the family with humorous stories. Each time he told a story, he embellished it a little more. Nancy’s mother encouraged her young daughter to write stories, even before Nancy could read. Nancy pecked away on the keyboard of an old Royal typewriter, writing nothing but jumbled letters and numbers. Nancy proudly handed her work to her mother, who read it aloud as if Nancy had actually written a story. The early influence of her mother’s literary interpretations and her father’s humorous storytelling set Nancy on the road to creating worlds through books. Now that she’s all grown up, Nancy considers her love of writing a gift of the spirit from her parents.
Nancy has a master’s degree in Education from Morehead State University and a master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. She lives in Kentucky in the log cabin in which she grew up. Nancy shares her cabin with her husband Larry and a canine writer assistants, Jazi and Roxi.

Reviews

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad junior science book, with a young kid posting a request to bloodsucker-kind in general, to learn more in order to narrow down their choice of Halloween costumes. One double-page spread will be the letter back from the boastful pov of the nasty involved, the next will be the science behind the critter and their consuming of the red stuff. And when the stomach is suitably churning over the kissing bug and their Chagas' disease gift, you realise the book has done everything except actually explain what the beasties are drinking blood for. Yes, the weak punchline here isn't to its benefit, but neither is the fact it ignores the whole bloody point of it all. I lambast primary school books that look at superlative creatures for not explaining the evolution as to why they came about, and there's a comparable hole here. Which from the qualities elsewhere is a pity.

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not exactly what I thought it was going to be, but overall, it was a cute little story.

Frankie, trying to figure out what he are going to dress up as, a series of letters are sent out to different "vampire" bugs. Each sends back a letter, and different facts about each bug is shared. I like the layout and how it was done, without feeling overwhelmed by the facts.

Great way to learn about different species!

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.