The Ink Drinker (A Stepping Stone Book

Ink Drinker / Draculivre #1

by Eric Sanvoisin

WHAT IF YOUR Dad loved books, owned a bookstore, and even called his cherished volumes “my little bookies”? You would probably despise books—just like the young protagonist in this deliciously bizarre story.

One summer vacation, while Odilon is working in the store and hoping shoplifters will ease his burden, he spots a weird, pale stranger drinking a book. With a straw. As soon as the ink drinker flees (at the sound of the boy’s gasp), the young spy locates the customer’s book and discovers that it is completely blank except for a letter or two! He races out of the store on the heels of this tough customer—all the way to the cemetery. . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Vampires, Books About Books, Middle Grade, Juvenile

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Myat Thura Aung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le buveur d'encre (literally, ‘ink drinker') normally means 'bookworm' in french but here, we literally have an ink drinker.

Hmmm, this book tastes a little funny and its ink tastes somewhat weird.
Pas mal. Ça m'a plu.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book vampires that drink ink. I like the illustrations in this series. I feel bad for all those poor books whose inky contents get sucked out of the pages.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint is that it was too brief! This 35-page book follows our book-hating narrator as he sees a strange figure drinking from a book. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to play detective, he follows the man and discovers what drove him to do so.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that reminds you how important it is to get translated editions of children’s books from other countries, and not just picture books. This was so good it inspired me to dress up as the ink drinker for Halloween at school.

[M Gerafar · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکی از دوست‌داشتنی‌ترین‌های کودکی‌ام...

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the illustrations, this is more a short story than a picture book and is probably better suited for kids at "chapter book" reading level.

[Marissa Elera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and delicious.

[Hediyeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️

[Goth Radio Hour · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a youth librarian, I'm trying to read more middle grade / young reader fiction. The Ink Drinker is a cleaver story that shines a light on the fun of devouring a novel. 5 stars. SO cute! Sign me up for a straw!

[Beth Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

In cleaning out my bookshelves at school, stumbled onto this cute (and short!) allegory by Eric Sanvoisin (with fun illustrations by Martin Matje). In the story, a young boy, Odilon--who hates books and all things reading--ironically happens to be the son of a bookstore owner. Since he doesn't like to read himself, the boy spies on the customers--especially out to nab anyone who attempts to shoplift. (Ironically, he usually allows it to take place, since that would mean once fewer book in the store!)

One day, in his spying, Odilon spots an odd man who is not reading the books but is actually drinking them. With a straw. When Odilon takes a look at the book--which the gentleman leaves behind, the pages are all but blank--with a few letters left here and there. Odilon follows the man to the cemetery.

And so begins a cute allegory that teaches its readers the importance of--and life-changing effects--of drinking in pages of stories that we love. Odilon learns that not all books are terrible. Duh.

Needless to say, this bibliophile adored Sanvoisin's 42-page allegory--along with Matje's crisp eye candy.

[Apple84 Wylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute and quirky book. Though very short (5 minute for an adult) it is well written and packs a lot into its small size. In a nutshell: Boy meets vampire. The twist is that the vampire must slurp ink from books to remain alive... aged ink being a delicacy. Did I mention the little boy hates books with a passion and must work in his father's book store? I won't give away the ending, but more irony awaits the boy in the conclusion. I've noticed that this is the first in an "ink drinkers" series; I'll try and pickup the others at the library based on this one. I should also mention that the art is really well done and adds much to the overall book. One minor complaint: too short! This was such a great premise I would have liked to see a larger story or small novella.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odilon hates to read, yet his father owns a bookstore. One day while working in the store, he notices a customer insert a straw into a book and begin to suck but the customer leaves as soon as he notices Odilon. Odilon then follows him in order to investigate and discovers he is an ink drinking vampire.

I thought this was a great introduction to mystery for young readers. I loved the concept of the story, but the execution could have been a bit more fleshed out. I know this is a beginning chapter book, but I think it would have been better as a full chapter book. However, the book is still worth a read.

[Ham ‍J.Sohi · Rating 3 out of 5]

به عنوان کتاب کودک عالیه. برای شروع یه بچه به این مدل دنیاهای فانتزی چیز خوبیه

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an odd little book. For a children's book, I thought it had a rather confusing ending. If expanded, I think it could have been better.

[La_Pal_de_la_licorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'adore cette saga. Je trouve l'histoire à la fois drôle et intrigante. Le petit Odilon est courageux et intrépide. Lui qui n'aime pas les livres, il aurait pu ne rien en avoir à faire mais au contraire, sa curiosité est piquée au vif et l'entraine dans une drôle d'aventure.

Je ne vous en dirai pas plus sur l'étrange client pour ne pas spoiler mais c'est un personnage complet et complexe. On le découvre au fur et à mesure des tomes et je l'aime beaucoup (bon ça vous l'aviez compris je pense 😉).

Le scénario est vraiment top. Il y a de l'aventure, de l'humour, du suspense ; le cocktail parfait. C'est très bien écrit et le vocabulaire est soutenu. Pourtant, c'est un roman pour les petits de 6-7 ans et il reste très accessible. Les dessins sont chouettes. Ils accompagnent parfaitement le texte et illustrent bien les mots compliqués.

Une série que je ne peux que vous conseiller pour les jeunes lecteurs. Succès assuré !

Un coup de cœur pour tous à la maison.

[Leslie Kitchin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm an elementary school librarian and a difficult but necessary part of my job is weeding the books that are not circulating. This series is one I pulled to weed - and I will weed it, but will likely hang onto them as a read aloud. I had never paid much attention to them but became intrigued when I looked at them. I just read the first one to a 3rd grade class. It's very short and only took about 20 minutes to read and I immediately started the second one. It's delightfully quirky - I love strange, quirky books and love to read them to the kids. The class really enjoyed it. I know kids love a book when they object to me having to stop.

[Elza Kinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being the son of a bookseller isn't so great when you're not really a reader. One day, a stranger arrives at the family bookstore. He takes to the shelves and begins devouring books. With a straw! This calls for an investigation.

Simply told and full of fun illustrations, The Ink Drinker puts a bookish spin on the vampire story. This easy read is perfect for new readers who like to investigate mysteries and don't mind a creepy twist or two.

[Margie Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In France, book worms are referred to as ink drinkers. When I learned this, I found this charming, short chapter book (translated from French) for children about the son of a bookstore owner. This child hates reading until he is "turned" by an ink drinking vampire! The story is accompanied by fun illustrations. There are three other books in the series, but I read that they aren't available. This might be an especially good book to read with a reluctant reader.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not think it was going to be super scary. I started having nightmares about it. When I looked at it, I couldn't read what it said. When I read it, one of the words said a v-v-vampire who could d-d-drink ink. He only likes ink on paper. He didn't have bottles of it, he did not like it fresh. He drank very old pieces of paper of it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this on a whim when I read about it somewhere (apparently it is French for "bookworm". I was a bit surprised that it was so short - I was hoping for more! But it is a children's book, so.... Enjoyable little story. I would like to have read more of the series, but the other books are either not available or very pricey - darn it.

[Keni Corvalan · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED this book when I was a child. Decided to read it again because I was feeling nostalgic. It was sweet and fun. Obviously not directed towards my age group, but it is a book I would love to read with my future children.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book about the son of a book store owner. His father loves books, but the son is allergic to them (as in, doesn’t like to read). Into the store one day comes a mysterious man who appears to drink the ink from books! Hum? A very fast and enjoyable read.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative and funny beginning reader with Gorey-esque illustrations. What’s not to like about a bibliophile girl and an ink-sucking vampire? Good for the high schooler who needs to keep her language skills up or a Francophone of about 7-8 years old.

[Monalisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un día, desde su escondite en la librería de su padre, un niño ve entrar a un nuevo cliente al que no conoce y que tiene un comportamiento muy curioso. Daniel decide seguirlo. Primer libro de la “Colección Vampiros Chupatintas”. Entretenido. Para niños a partir de 7-8 años.

[Laetitia]

Ce tr�s court roman jeunesse m'a laiss�e sur ma soif, juste assez pour me donner envie de d�couvrir les autres volumes de la s�rie.Pr�conis� d�s 7 ans, c'est une jolie petite aventure qui fait un tout petit peu peur, autour de l'encre des livres...

[Kairos LC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just remembered this book and it was literally a pure wonder, it was my first toxic relationship with literature: it gave me a fear for the strangeness of the character and its description but at the same time a love for the originality of this story.

[Mary Kinietz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's book.

[Lindy Santellan]

Weird but fun

[Myth Liberated · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب ساده روان با داستانی که میتواند نوعی سرآغاز کتاب خواندن برای کودکان باشد

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ryan & Mom ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️