What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
This topic is about
The Runton Werewolf and the Big Match
SOLVED: Children's/YA
>
SOLVED. Kids' Fantasy chapter book. Scientist kidnaps invisible vampire boy (who can turn into a wolf) when he visits boy's school to give a lecture. Dad turns into wolf, mom & sister turn into bats. Boy can hypnotize people. Read around 1999, British? [s]
date
newest »
newest »
Ha, it's like the protag of the book I'm looking for hit puberty and got grim. Worth a read, thank you!
Do you remember the cover?Part of a series?
Did the story focus on the boy trying to escape or the events leading up to the kidnapped?
I can't remember the cover, unfortunately. The story focused on his escape efforts; the kidnapping happened in the opening scene. I don't remember it being a very long book, though - I feel like it would have been smaller than the average Goosebumps book.
I doubt it was part of a series; it felt like a standalone book.
bump. I live in hope.
bump for invisible kidnapped werewolf/vampire kid book
Bump. Still looking.
Do you remember the location/time period the story takes place?Were there any other fantasy characters in the book? Like witches, trolls, etc?
Location: probably England? Most of the books I read at the time were by British publishers, which is why I've been having such a hard time locating them or running into people who've read them in the US.Time: modern day (well, as of like 1999). The kid was going to a normal school, there were were cars, and the scientists had a bit of high tech like security cameras and infrared goggles but nothing unrealistic.
Other fantasy characters: nope. Just this probably-vampire kid and his family (with the implication of, perhaps, other vampire families though they were not seen in this book and the kid was told to keep the existence of vampires a secret). That's why the scientist was so excited to discover him.
I think the book began with a scene of the kid at home with his family (I think he had a younger sister who wasn't school aged yet?), to establish they were vampires. He was definitely a real kid, not dead and frozen at one age forever, and I don't really remember him drinking blood. His family basically seemed to have inheritable vampire-related superpowers, and were not dead immortals.
Then he went off to school, got kidnapped during school, and was back home by the end of school hours, so his family didn't know he got kidnapped?
I think the scientists were somehow discredited and not a problem anymore and the kid didn't mention them to his dad, because the kid didn't seem worried at the end, they just went on a family run/flight as normal.
Oh that's right! I think the kid could hypnotize people! The scientists avoided eye contact or wore mirrored sunglasses or something? I may be mixing it up with other books, there was a lot of hypnotism going around at the time, but it does seem like a likely vampire power and wrap up the ending better.
I think he tried hypnotism but it didn't work, then he turned into a wolf to escape out the bathroom window because wolf hips were narrower? Then there was a bit of an invisible rooftop chase with tranquilizer darts and infrared goggles, which he won.
I think he managed to hypnotize them into leaving vampires alone at the end of the book.
Sorry, it was a very long time ago, and it's hard not mixing it up with other things I've read.
Thanks for helping!
This may be completely off, but I think I remember a puffy yellow hard cover? Like, shiny paper wrapped over cardboard, with an illustration on the front cover.It would have been a thin book, no more than a finger thick, even with hard covers - it seemed like a very short story, and was definitely the only story in the book. I was in primary school at the time, and I had the run of the school library. It seemed short, but was not a picture book - maybe it had a couple sketchy ink illustrations like Roald Dahl books or Vampire Park?
bump for the vampire bookI am prepared to look for this book forever
bump. how time flies!
Ma and pa Dracula by Ann Martin? I only remember the cover, but the time period Is close...
That's not it, but thanks for trying!
Time to bump this kidnapped vampire kid book again! I would love to find it.
New year, new bump for the kidnapped vampire kid. I heard nine years was the Goodreads record for finding lost books, and I'm prepared for the long haul.
Still on the lookout for this mysterious probably-vampire kid!
How time flies! Bump again for the kidnapped vampire kid.
Overdue bump for the kidnapped vampire kid!
Been a while since I bumped this! Man, I'd love to read it again.
Mod
Feel free to update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the header. This only works on the full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app. (On the Mobile website, there's a "Desktop version" link at the bottom of the page.)
Thanks, Kris! I hope it helps, I miss this book.
Mod
No, he doesn't turn into a bat, he can only turn into a wolf, and turn invisible.I was uncertain at first whether he was a vampire or a werewolf since I didn't remember anything about blood drinking, but these days I'm pretty sure he's a vampire and the animal he can turn into depends on gender - boys are wolves, girls are bats.
I think I remember the illustration at the end, an ink scribble of two wolves in the woods, with two bats flying overhead?
Mod
Afraid so, but I appreciate your help. The vampire kid was definitely alone in the story, and didn't mention any human friends who knew he was a vampire. He was attending a regular human school, and didn't stick out in any way, which is why he was so surprised the scientist knew about vampires.
Sorry for the early bump, but I've been scouring Worldcat for every vampire or werewolf kids' book published between 1960 and 2002, and I haven't come up with any matches. Either I'm overlooking it somehow, or my parameters are off. Could it be this isn't classified as a vampire book? So I'm going to go over the facts:I am certain that:
The protagonist is a boy (I remember being uncomfortable with him being stripped and drawn on by the scientist while knocked out, and indignant that girls had to be bats)
The protagonist is a monster, and is kidnapped by a human
The human comes to his school to give a science demonstration to his class, asks the protagonist to carry equipment to his trunk, and jabs him with a syringe, knocking him out, stuffing him in the trunk, and speeding away.
The protagonist wakes up in captivity covered in dotted lines where the scientist is going to cut him up.
The protagonist escapes by turning into a wolf to get out the window, and turning invisible as the scientist pursues him with infrared goggles
The protagonist is physically and culturally indistinguishable from humans (doesn't wear a vampire cape, goes to school with human kids, no visible fangs or anything so the scientist wants to dissect him to find differences)
The protagonist was born a monster, not turned or cured during the book, and goes back to his family of monsters at the end
The protagonist does not have friends or allies helping him against the scientist
Boys of his species turn into wolves, and girls turn into bats
He has a mom, a dad, and a younger sister
This book took place in the real world, not a fantasy world or another planet
The book was in a school library
I suspect that:
The protagonist is a vampire (I really don't know what else he could be!)
The protagonist can use hypnotism
The protagonist is prepubescent
The book was published sometime in the 90s
The book is a chapter book for kids
The book is in the same genre as something like Overnight Bite by Carol Ellis - not a scary bad ending like Goosebumps, or a book for older kids like Christopher Pike's stuff
I don't think that:
The protagonist is an alien or mutant
The book is part of a series or a group of short stories
This was a choose your own adventure book
Are there books that don't make it onto Worldcat? Do you think I'm barking up the wrong tree?
Bumping the invisible wolf vampire book again.
Summer wrote: "Are there books that don't make it onto Worldcat?"Every published book should be in Worldcat. The problem is that it may not have a description or any relevant keywords listed as the subject.
You're right, it is possible that the description is just a stub and that's why I'm missing it. But I have also found books that don't make it onto WorldCat - I have a 1994 copy of The Maiden's Tower by John S. Dyson, published in English in Turkey. It certainly looks like a book and is 80 pages long, but WorldCat has never heard of it. Perhaps it's classified as a magazine? So there is a possibility it's fallen into a crack like that.
Bumping this again. I live in hope.
Mod
Not quite sure - in terms of tone, it was basically an action thriller for kids. Though the kid was threatened with dissection, he made it out just fine so I wouldn't classify it as horror. Baby's first urban fantasy, I suppose! I wouldn't expect to find it on a proper genre list, since it was one of those short chapter books - I would probably have been reading things like Bunnicula or Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots at the time, though this book strikes me as shorter than those.
I think this could be The Runton Werewolf And The Big Match by Ritchie Perry, which is the sequel to The Runton Werewolf. In the first book he finds out that he and his family are a type of alien called Gronks, which means that he, his dad and his uncle can turn into his wolves and his mum and his sister into bats. They also have powers like invisibility and mind control. In the second book he is kidnapped by a scientist like you remember:The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was naked. Almost immediately afterwards, I saw the large black cross that had been drawn on my chest, and there was another slash of marker pen across my stomach. This was the moment I realised I hadn't been dreaming. The professor really had been examining me while I was under the influence of the drugs. His maniac of a helper really did intend to hack me open when she had the chance.
I couldn't find a Google Books preview for either, but both have copies available on archive.org
Holy shit oh my god Becca thank you so much! How did you find this??? How did you even find my post, it's been months since I bumped it! I am going to go on archive.org and read it tomorrow to confirm but I'm already sure this is it. I am overwhelmed. Thank you, this is incredible.
Glad I could help! I had your post saved as one that I wanted to try solving - since you'd scoured WorldCat for vampire books I did a search for 90s juvenile werewolf books and got lucky.
Alright, I've read the book, it's absolutely the right one. It is so funny to see what I remembered, and what I forgot! I still love the book as an adult, and I am so happy to have it back. Thank you again, Becca, and thank you to everyone who tried to help me over the years!
Thank you for confirming! So glad this one is solved.
Mod
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
The Runton Werewolf and the Big Match (other topics)Runton Werewolf (other topics)
The Little Vampire (other topics)
Wolf Mark (other topics)
The protagonist was a boy who could turn into a wolf and turn invisible. A scientist came to his school and gave his class a lecture, and when the boy carried his equipment to the car for him, the scientist stuck a syringe in the boy and put him in the trunk. The boy woke up covered in dotted lines where the scientist was going to dissect him. The scientist (and his wife/assistant) knew about his powers and were prepared with infrared goggles, but the boy escaped anyway.
I'm not sure if he's a vampire or a werewolf - I may be confusing this with another book, but I think he went home to his family, and his mom and sister could turn into bats, while he and his dad turned into wolves.