Vampire Boy's Good Night

by Lisa Brown

When the sun goes down and everything is wonderfully cold and dark, a vampire boy and a little witch go searching for children in the night.

But this is no ordinary night. It is Halloween, and what they find may surprise them. . . .

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens, Vampires, Holiday, Witches, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 27, 2010

About the author

LISA BROWN is the bestselling illustrator and/or author of a growing number of books, including How to Be, The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming, and Baby Mix Me a Drink. She draws the Three Panel Book Review cartoon for the book section of the San Francisco Chronicle. Lisa lives in San Francisco with her son and her husband, who is rumored to be Lemony Snicket.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is cut. A witch and a Vampire are friends. They set out looking for children and find a Halloween party where children are real. Luckily no one is hurt. winky face.

A cute story. My nephew is crazy about this book. Crazy loves it.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, how I wish this story had focused on the lives of Vampire Boy and his Witch friend in their charming, humorous, delightfully vampire-y and witch-y houses. I thought the Bela (vampire family) mansion was just so hilarious with the proper butler (with a band-aid on his neck from a vampire bite, haha!) and the little nuances in the decorations was just great. The witch's bedroom is fun, too, and her supply of literature was a neat little touch ("The Crucible" and "The Witch of Blackbird Pond", for example). They set off to find some children because young Bela wants to see them, but the witch says children don't really exist. Such a cute set up!
Alas, the bulk of the story is very ho-hum and takes us to familiar territory of a children's Halloween party. The story lost its unique appeal here and the illustrations just couldn't bring up the rather dull writing style.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young vampire and his witch pal don't believe in children. After all, they've never seen any of them when they're out flying around at night . . . until one Halloween when they stumble on a party filled with friendly youngsters.



It is a good night, indeed!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I can't give AN AWARD or TEN MILLION STARS to this book for being the cutest thing EVER, but somebody else can give it three stars because they don't like the main character's name?

Bah, I say!

Imagine that my five stars IS ALL THE STARS IN THE FIRMAMENT. I love Vampire Boy!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vampire boy does not believe in children...on Halloween night he decides to try to find some...but all he finds are...well, I'll let you read the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just received my copy of this children's book from Goodreads! This was a cute Halloween story about a little witch and a young vampire who set out on Halloween night to look for real children, whom they cannot quite believe really exist. They end up at a children's costume party and get to see first-hand what "real" children look like.

I liked the illustrations in the story. I thought they were nicely drawn with a lot of details, and I liked the color scheme throughout the story.

Although I would read this book at home with my own children, I would probably not recommend this one for a classroom teacher. It was a little too "Halloween" and not so much "cute pumpkins and fall harvest," if you know what I mean. It just depends on what you are looking for in a Halloween story. Overall, I enjoyed the picture book and think most children will, too!

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet little book with a story reminiscent of A Very Brave Witch, except this time it's a witch *and* a vampire who discover that children are nothing to be afraid of. The text is better written this time around. Brown's illustrations are truly charming. There are also lots of little details to entertain the grownups reading this aloud (Bela's bedtime book is Sabatini's Captain Blood).

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful tale for Halloween. A little vampire boy and a little witch girl go out on Halloween night, the vampire boy wants to see real human children, the two arrive at a Halloween party and join in on all the games until the unmasking, when the human children are given quite a surprise when they learn that a real witch girl and vampire boy attended their party.

This book has terrific artwork and is a great choice for Halloween reading.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable Hallowe'en read! Although I would have liked to see more of Bela and Morgan's everyday lives, it was fun to see the role reversals. My favorite part though are the little details: "Danse Macabre" and the other records and book titles especially, but also the little plush bat!

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful! One of the rare picture books that is (almost) as much for the adult reader as it is for the child being read to. Among the lovely illustrations and fun story are little references that adults will get but young children probably don't yet know.

[Cian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age 4 loved it. A vampire and a witch set out to find if children are real and end up at a Halloween party. The 2 friends get a surprise when all the children take off their masks and the vampire boy and witch realize children are real.

[Kacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this on good reads and my kids really liked it. Just in time for Halloween! We'll be reading this one over and over.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire boy and Witch go looking for little children. Is there such a thing? When they finally realize that they have been hanging out with chilren all night, they get moving and leave the party.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

37 months - Beautifully illustrated, the detail in the scenes are great. The story is interesting and different, the little vampire and witch are not sure children are real.

[Jen one n · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requested nightly while we had it (library book) not too scary for little guy, we liked story and illustrations.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute Halloween illustrations with a twist on a boy vampire and a girl witch who find a kids' Halloween party, but don't win the best costume contest!

[Heather Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

megan fall reading 2014, megan fall reading 2016, children's book, picture book, holiday book, halloween, vampire, witch, friends, children's, first grade, kindergarten, second grade,

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this before. about a vampire boy and witch girl on Halloween who go searching for human children.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of fun little details on every page!

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun kids book. I'm going to read it to my sons Kindergarten class for an up coming parent book read day.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bela the vampire boy wakes up one night and goes to visit his friend Morgan the witch in this entertaining seasonal romp. It is Halloween night, and Bela is determined to see some human children, even if Morgan says they aren't real. When the two stumble upon a party being held by what seem to be ghouls, witches and ghosts, they join in, watching what happens around them. At the end of the celebration, when a best costume award is given, and the other attendees take off their masks, Bela and Morgan realize they've been with children the whole time, and they return to their homes satisfied...

Stories in which witches (and here, vampires) want to meet ordinary human children aren't so unusual, in the realm of witchy picture-books (an interest of mine), so I didn't find the narrative developments here at all surprising. That said, the story itself was engaging, and the artwork quite charming. My favorite part of the book, truth be told, was Morgan's witchy home, with its abundance of witch-related books - The Witch of Blackbird Pond , The Crucible , The Witch Family - laying about. There was even a reference to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , in the two legs sticking out from under Morgan's house! Recommended to picture-book readers looking for fun Halloween stories more on the sweet, rather than spooky side.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bela, young vampire boy, and his witch friend, Morgan, set out to look for children on Halloween night, though Morgan is sure that there’s no such thing as children. But when they come across a Halloween party, they are surprised to discover that the monsters and witches are actually children dressed in Halloween costumes. When Bela and Morgan sail off on the witch’s broom, it’s the children’s turn to be surprised! Lisa Brown, a local San Francisco author and illustrator, has captured just the right balance between a dark Halloween night and a sweet vampire boy and young witch. Kids have fun getting the joke that children really do exist. The speech bubbles bring children right into Bela and Morgan’s perspective, and the understated prose lets readers discover the tricks for themselves. This is a Halloween treat for young readers.

[M.M. Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book that I could see myself reading over and over. Bela and Morgan are "real" vampires and witches who want to know about real children. Their adventure takes them to a local Halloween party. What happens there will tickle the reader just a bit.

What I liked most about this book is the subtle insertions in the illustrations. Children who read the book may not be aware of them and I felt it was more for adults reading to children. For example, the raven in the window sill or the pictures of scattered books with popular titles like, "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. There are many to be found and quite clever.

This is a sure win to have on the Halloween shelves and gets five pumpkins from me!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember where I first saw this, but I knew I had to get it when I did. It's just so adorable and I love to read children's books every now and then.

The first this that caught my eye when looking through this book were all the clever little references to books and music associated with Halloween. In Bela's room there are copies of Dracula and The Raven. Then, when Bela visits Morgan, his adorable witch friend, she's brewing a potion while listening to Symphonie Fantastique. The Cruciable is sitting open on her bed. The inclusion of Berlioz's programmatic symphony is so clever! This is yet another adorable children's book I'll have to show my children one day.

If you have some little ones, I recommend this for them.

Read more reviews at Owl Tell You About It.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute picture book about a little vampire (named Bela after Bela Lugosi) and a little witch (named Morgan after Morgan le Fay) who encounter children for the first time on Halloween night and attend a costume party. It's another gentle the-monsters-are-just-like-us-and-there's-nothing-to-be-afraid-of story.

The literary and cultural references sprinkled throughout the first few pages are a nice touch. Bela has a copy of Dracula by Bram Stoker as well as books by Anne Rice, Edgar Allan Poe, John Polidori, and Rafael Sabatini strewn about his floor, and Morgan has copies of The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare in her house in addition to a poster for the musical "Wicked" and records by Paganini, Saint-Saens, and Berlioz.

[Dena McMurdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea behind this story is really cute. It is about a vampire boy named Bela, and his witch friend Morgan. They go in search of real children on Halloween night. Morgan doesn't believe that children are real, and Bela wants to prove that they are. The writing is simple and straightforward, and compliments the illustrations well (probably because it was both written and illustrated by Lisa Brown).

While this isn't my favorite Halloween book, it is a cute read and children will enjoy it. It was a book that I didn't really love, but didn't hate.
Books for Kids

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are charming, especially in the beginning when we are introduced to Bela and his witch friend. Bela longs to see children, although Morgan assures him they are not real. Alas, the story takes a turn for the prosaic as they discover a Halloween party where the "real" children assume they are in costume.
Could have been so much more clever than it is. But is a serviceable Halloween book.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations in this book. Not a great choice for a storytime because of all of the details in the illustrations, but a great lap-read. Vampire boy (Bella) and his witch friend (Morgan) go in search of real boys and girls to see if they truly exist...and end up at a Halloween party full of them :)

[Erin Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received my copy from Goodreads!
I think the book is well illustrated and I love the details that can be found on each page. My 5 year old has had me read it to her many times and is even now attempting to read it to her cousins. =)

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected way more after a patron mention this book, but was pretty disappointed. Also, the vampire boy was named Bela, which erked me for some reason. I did enjoy the illustrations and the attention paid to the detailing, especially in the literary works.