Nighty-Nightmare

ANNOTATION

When scary strangers appear at the Monroes' overnight campsite, Chester the cat tries to convince the family's two dogs that foul play is intended.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An overnight camping trip! Not Harold's idea of fun. Too many mosquitoes, ticks and cockleburs. But when the Monroe family set out, their faithful dog Harold was with them, mostly because he remembered that camping could also bring s'mores and toasted marshmallows. Howie, the other family dog, and Chester the cat were also included in the trip. Only Chester thought the idea was completely insane. The woods, he informed Harold, were not only full of cockleburs and ticks, but of spirits, evil spirits who prey on the innocent. And on this, the worst night of the year -- St. George's Eve, when all spirits are set loose -- who knew what could happen.

What Harold knew was that Chester was a well read, over-stimulated cat, full of weird ideas. He did not take Chester's worries too seriously. He had s'more to think about. But then, the Monroes set up camp near two strange men and their even stranger dog, and things began to happen that made even Harold wonder. Could Chester be right?

This begins a long night, full of terrors and alarms, full of Chester's horrifying tale of how Bunnicula, the vampire bunny, was born and came to America, full of storms and a total sense of danger; and at the end came surprises that even Chester could not have predicted.

Once again, the Monroe family may be the victims of evil forces or only of Chester's strange imagination. But whichever, the result is suspenseful and very, very funny.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this campsite adventure, part of the Bunnicula series, "humor is brilliantly blended with vampire lore," said PW. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

When the Monroes decide to go on an overnight camping trip in the woods, they meet two peculiar characters, Bud and Spud and their dog, Dawg. Chester, the Monroe's cat with the overactive imagination, is sure these fellas are up to no good. Dawg takes Chester, puppy Howie and narrator Harold into the woods and announces that they are lost. This convinces Chester that Bud and Spud intend to harm the Monroes. That night he tells the three dogs "a hare-raising tale" of two brothers from Transylvania and their vampire rabbits. In the morning light, the mystery of Bud and Spud is solved. Bunnicula fans will enjoy this addition to the series. Humorous wordplay and puns are interwoven with suspense, making this ideal for the newly independent reader ready for chapter books. 1997 (orig.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6 It's another outing for the companions of Bunnicula (Atheneum, 1979) the (supposedly) vampire rabbit. This time, they are on a camping trip with the Monroes, their cheerfully oblivious owners. Chester suspects danger from the outset, and his worst suspicions are confirmed when the Monroes set up camp near Bud, Spud, and their dog, Dawg, a sinister threesome right out of Deliverance. When Dawg leads Howie, Harold, and Chester on a chase deep into the surrounding forest and they become lost, Chester tells them a scary story to lull Dawg to sleep so that they can escape to rescue the Monroes who, they are sure, are in mortal danger. The story, of course, turns out to be about Bunnicula, Chester's favorite subject, and his origins, which turn out to be similar to the plot of any standard vampire movie and which, curiously, seem to involve Bud and Spud. Dawg brings about logical explanations which convince even Chester until he learns about Pete's secret merit badge project: breeding Bunnicula. . . . This fourth story in the series is the weakest, relying too much on readers' familiarity with vampire movie cliches and tolerance for weak puns. The journey into Bunnicula's roots is labored at best. The central conceit of this is done wittily but is getting threadbare. Is Chester right or merely hysterical? Readers would like to know. Christine Behrmann, New York Public Library

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