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A Practical Guide to Vampires
Sink your teeth into today's hottest fantasy topic with the next book in the New York Times best-selling series...
How old is a vampire fledgling? Why do vampires avoid mirrors? What's the best way to slip into a vampire's home? New York Times best-selling author Lisa Trumbauer illuminates the twilight world of vampires in the next edition in the Practical Guide family of fantasy essentials.
Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 8/11/2009 Pages: 80 Reading Level: Age 6 and Up
How old is a vampire fledgling? Why do vampires avoid mirrors? What's the best way to slip into a vampire's home? New York Times best-selling author Lisa Trumbauer illuminates the twilight world of vampires in the next edition in the Practical Guide family of fantasy essentials.
Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 8/11/2009 Pages: 80 Reading Level: Age 6 and Up
80 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Trumbauer
304 books9 followersLisa Trumbauer has written early-learner books for Scholastic's Jump Start series and published numerous other activity books, picture books, and novels for middle-school readers, including the New York Times bestseller A Practical Guide to Dragons.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 27, 2020
Entertaining illustrations, especially those of the different “vampire lairs”: the one with an entrance through a secret door in a graveyard tree- with booby traps and an underground library- being specifically of note.
However I was a bit disappointed that this was a book simply making up one author’s own version of vampires, rather than referencing folklore of different cultures- especially because this book did not seem to reference a specific fictional world.
However I was a bit disappointed that this was a book simply making up one author’s own version of vampires, rather than referencing folklore of different cultures- especially because this book did not seem to reference a specific fictional world.
May 23, 2022
I'm very biased. I love the "Practical Guide To..." series, and I this book very much. I've had it since I was 15, and I still look through the pages every once in a while. It's my main inspiration for ideas and world building, and I feel like it greatly influenced my artstyle. As a book itself, I know nothing about Dungeons and Dragons and I don't do table-top roleplaying, so I have no idea how useful this book is in the grand scheme of things. But as a fun picture book with wonderful art, it's one of my favorites.
October 21, 2017
This was certainly a fun book. It gave me insight into vampire and was written as a sort of handbook. It was a lot of fun. Certainly check it out if you want a guide to all things vampire.
May 20, 2020
Now this had some damn good artwork, hat's off to every artist who contributed to this book.
June 18, 2022
Overall I did really like this book the graphics were great. My only criticism I feel the book is unnecessarily long I feel some details did get repeated.
November 13, 2015
In all the Dungeons & Dragon books (including the worlds of Forgotten Realms and DragonLance), I have yet to read about a vampire. So, I am looking forward to meeting this new foe and seeing how the main character, or characters, will not only react to it, but battle it. After all, vampires are stronger, quicker, smarter, charming and magical. How can a normal mortal fright that?
A Practical Guide to Vampires has much more information about vampires than I anticipated. After all, this is the fourth Practical Guide I have read and find that they are highly enjoyable. Vampires are the hot thing right now. With popular movies hitting the big screen, shows on television, and a lot of books being written, vampires are the top of the heap in the paranormal world. Although this book doesn't deal with all the variations of vampires being created, it does deal with them in relation to the world of Dungeons & Dragons. One thing I found really interesting was the exclusion of a cross as a form of protection. This makes sense because the Catholic religion does not exist in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Sure, there are clerics, but those clerics worship different gods . . . so no cross.
Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer has gathered a ton of interesting information about vampires. The artwork nicely compliments the text. This book is a must for any lover of vampires. My daughter is one of those teenage girls that loves vampires and thinks they are good and handsome. The seven years I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the five years I watched Angel have taught me otherwise. No matter how you slice it, vampires are evil creatures. Sure, there may be a few good ones out there, like the vegetarians described in this book, but they are far and few between. Still, that didn't stop my daughter from snatching this book up the minute I brought it home. I had to fight her to get it back.
Overall, A Practical Guide to Vampires is packed with interesting tidbits about the living dead. The artwork is wonderful and I highly recommend this informational book to anyone that wants to know more about vampires. If you desires to become a vampire hunter, you will gain a lot of important knowledge from reading this book. Make sure you don't go out there unprepared. You will either end up dead or turned into a vampire yourself. Neither seems like a good idea to me.
I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.
A Practical Guide to Vampires has much more information about vampires than I anticipated. After all, this is the fourth Practical Guide I have read and find that they are highly enjoyable. Vampires are the hot thing right now. With popular movies hitting the big screen, shows on television, and a lot of books being written, vampires are the top of the heap in the paranormal world. Although this book doesn't deal with all the variations of vampires being created, it does deal with them in relation to the world of Dungeons & Dragons. One thing I found really interesting was the exclusion of a cross as a form of protection. This makes sense because the Catholic religion does not exist in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. Sure, there are clerics, but those clerics worship different gods . . . so no cross.
Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer has gathered a ton of interesting information about vampires. The artwork nicely compliments the text. This book is a must for any lover of vampires. My daughter is one of those teenage girls that loves vampires and thinks they are good and handsome. The seven years I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the five years I watched Angel have taught me otherwise. No matter how you slice it, vampires are evil creatures. Sure, there may be a few good ones out there, like the vegetarians described in this book, but they are far and few between. Still, that didn't stop my daughter from snatching this book up the minute I brought it home. I had to fight her to get it back.
Overall, A Practical Guide to Vampires is packed with interesting tidbits about the living dead. The artwork is wonderful and I highly recommend this informational book to anyone that wants to know more about vampires. If you desires to become a vampire hunter, you will gain a lot of important knowledge from reading this book. Make sure you don't go out there unprepared. You will either end up dead or turned into a vampire yourself. Neither seems like a good idea to me.
I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.
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June 22, 2010 A Practical Guide to Vampires presents itself as a nonfiction handbook compiled by a vampire hunter and enthusiast. The author describes their habits and haunts, and gives advice to the reader on how to track and hunt vampires, and survive to tell the story. The book is designed to look like an “authentic” journal. The pages look yellowed and stained, and there are handwritten notes throughout. A Practical Guide to Vampires is visually impressive. The illustrations are beautifully done and dynamic in nature, and will capture the attention of even reluctant readers. The text is arranged attractively with plenty of “white space”. Interesting facts are boxed, or appear as “notes” hastily attached to the pages, and the book includes intriguing diagrams and lists. It’s good that the design is well-planned, because the actual text contains some difficult vocabulary. Teachers willing to follow where their students lead will find that there are many ways to use the book’s design to support reading and comprehension, especially during the Halloween season.
Interest in this book is not limited to kids, though. Adults with interest in vampires may also like it, and will note some dry humor that more literal minded kids will miss, as well as an oblique reference to Twilight. A Practical Guide to Vampires is a companion to the Ravenloft universe of Dungeons and Dragons, and there are quirks here and there that reveal it, such as the detailed mapping of a vampire’s residence and the endless listing of magical tools, but most people won’t notice or care. A Practical Guide to Vampires works just fine as a stand alone title, a handsome and compelling addition to the growing collection of handbooks to the supernatural. Highly recommended for elementary and middle school library media centers and general public library collections.
Contains: references to blood-drinking
Review by Kirsten Kowalewski
Interest in this book is not limited to kids, though. Adults with interest in vampires may also like it, and will note some dry humor that more literal minded kids will miss, as well as an oblique reference to Twilight. A Practical Guide to Vampires is a companion to the Ravenloft universe of Dungeons and Dragons, and there are quirks here and there that reveal it, such as the detailed mapping of a vampire’s residence and the endless listing of magical tools, but most people won’t notice or care. A Practical Guide to Vampires works just fine as a stand alone title, a handsome and compelling addition to the growing collection of handbooks to the supernatural. Highly recommended for elementary and middle school library media centers and general public library collections.
Contains: references to blood-drinking
Review by Kirsten Kowalewski
June 25, 2015
This book was sitting on the main display at the library and it with another book drew my attention in and I decided to grab this book. I have done my fair share of research on vampires and werewolves and the various legends and I’ve decided it was high time I look a little deeper. Now I will tell you right off that this book did not take me much deeper. Though it is classified as a non fiction book it is more fiction than not. Though the book had its short comings it was still an amusing read. At the very least I decided to keep reading it when a friend was asking me to play a game with her. I am a fiend when it comes to games particularly puzzle games and that was the type of game I was being offered. (I muliti-tasked and read and played at the same time.)
Over all it was a quick read and gave you a glimpse of vampires and what they are like but nothing in particular detail, the drawings were quite nice and really for a children’s book it was quite good. I will also admit that this book introduced me to some added monsters I did not know about such as the Illithid and I was amused at the vampire games listed in the book.
So if you are looking for a light read, want a basic gasp of vampires or have a kid that is intrigued by the creatures of the night this book is the place to go. It is easy to read and follow and the side notes from the author who is just as much a character of the book as the fiction and story that is created in this non-fiction format are somewhat amusing. Over all I would give this book a 3 out of 5.
Over all it was a quick read and gave you a glimpse of vampires and what they are like but nothing in particular detail, the drawings were quite nice and really for a children’s book it was quite good. I will also admit that this book introduced me to some added monsters I did not know about such as the Illithid and I was amused at the vampire games listed in the book.
So if you are looking for a light read, want a basic gasp of vampires or have a kid that is intrigued by the creatures of the night this book is the place to go. It is easy to read and follow and the side notes from the author who is just as much a character of the book as the fiction and story that is created in this non-fiction format are somewhat amusing. Over all I would give this book a 3 out of 5.
June 27, 2011
I was laughing so much reading this book. I didn't realize until I was almost done that it is a companion book to other 'A Practical Guide To...' and part of Dungeons & Dragons (which I didn't even know was still around). A lot of made-up fantasy creatures and vampire lore. It was kinda like reading a book that the Frog Brothers would have used in The Lost Boys - LOL! A very quick and funny read for sure!
October 17, 2013
When I pulled this book out for Halloween, Loki immediately zipped through the entire thing. When he told me he read it cover to cover, I immediately ordered the rest in the series, which he also plowed through with enthusiasm. They are so well made, with lovely illustrations, and are great as read-alouds or for silent reading.
April 1, 2015
Not quite as informative as I was hoping for, but it is directed at a younger audience. I had to admit I didn't know it was a DnD resource until I saw the mention of the Ilithid. I appreciate it a little more now that I'm aware it's a Wizards of the Coast publication. The illustrations are quite detailed as well, though a touch on the generic side.
July 25, 2014
I definitely recommend A Practical Guide to Vampires especially to those vampire enthusiasts. The art is so good! Lots of new information about vampires like their anatomy, castle structure, transformations etc. Finished this in one sitting. Fast read and entertaining.
February 19, 2011
If you thought Count Dracula was freaky, wait till you read "A Practical Guide to Vampires"!
January 26, 2012
Very cute, few facts, but I mostly give credit for art on this one.
May 16, 2013
Great guide. This is the book that inspired me to seek out the lives of vampires!
September 28, 2014
This book in new Hardcover cost $6.32, in used hardcover it cost $9.18, if new paperback it cost $6.97, if used paperback it cost $0.01. On Amazon.
February 3, 2016
I would have given it a higher rating, but it made a Twilight reference and I just can't abide by that.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews