Celebrate over forty years of the modern classic BUNNICULA with this fang-tastic graphic novelization that will send a shiver down your spine and leave you howling with laughter!
BUNNICULA, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
written by James Howe & Andrew Donkin
illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, August 2022
(via Writers House)
Beware the hare! Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household—a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits…and fangs! Could this innocent-seeming rabbit actually be a vampire? Experience the chills and thrills of this classic tale in an all-new graphic novel format!
James Howe is the author of more than ninety books for young readers. Bunnicula, coauthored by his late wife Deborah and published in 1979, is considered a modern classic of children’s literature. The author has written six highly popular sequels, along with the spinoff series Tales from the House of Bunnicula and Bunnicula and Friends. Among his other books are picture books such as Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores and beginning reader series that include the Pinky and Rex and Houndsley and Catina books. He has also written for older readers. The Misfits, published in 2001, inspired the nationwide antibullying initiative No Name-Calling Week, as well as three sequels. A common theme in James Howe’s books from preschool through teens is the acceptance of difference and being true to oneself.
Andrew Donkin is a writer and graphic novelist. He was described by The Times (London) as “the graphic novel supremo,” which is what he’ll have on his tombstone in the unlikely event he ever dies. Andrew has written more than seventy books that sold more than nine million copies, including children’s books, graphic novels, and even the odd book for grown-ups. He is a longtime collaborator with Eoin Colfer. The pair recently coauthored the award-winning graphic novel, Illegal. Andrew lives near the river Thames in London with his partner, their two children, and no vampire bunny rabbits.
Stephen Gilpin graduated from the NYC School of Visual Arts where he studied painting and cartooning. He is the illustrator of the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk series and The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy series. Stephen currently lives in Hiawatha, Kansas.
Lavender House, 1952: the family seat of recently deceased matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of the famous Lamontaine soap empire. Irene’s recipes for her signature scents are a well guarded secret―but it’s not the only one behind these gates. This estate offers a unique freedom, where none of the residents or staff hide who they are. But to keep their secret, they’ve needed to keep others out. And now they’re worried they’re keeping a murderer in. Irene’s widow hires Evander Mills to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death. Andy, recently fired from the San Francisco police after being caught in a raid on a gay bar, is happy to accept―his calendar is wide open. And his secret is the kind of secret the Lamontaines understand.
Ever since his mother was killed, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal—to see illegal users of magic brought to justice. People who carelessly use extradimensional magic for their own self-interest, without a care about the damage it does to society or those around them, deserve to be punished as far as Cayder is concerned. Because magic always has a price. So, when Cayder lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice under a premier public defender, he takes it. If he can learn all the tricks of public defense, the better he’ll be able to dismantle defense arguments when he’s a prosecutor. Then he’ll finally be able to make sure justice is served.
When Vladimir Putin becomes president in January 2000, Anton, a rich commodities trader, flees Moscow. Behind him lie eight breathtaking years in post-Soviet predatory capitalism, ahead of him yawning boredom in the well-off milieu of New York. But even at forty, Anton is still an incorrigible romantic in search of the next thrill. Then a headhunter makes him an enticing offer. Anton is to build up a steel company in Kazakhstan, which is so rich in mineral resources, with money from anonymous sources. The German embarks on the adventure and learns painfully how local clans and insatiable elites ruthlessly defend the loot they have amassed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Anton finds allies and makes a momentous pact.
When they meet as children, Nina and Jess form a strong bond, one that quickly intensifies when they discover they share an extraordinary power: they can swap bodies. As they grow older, they use this ability to steal into each other’s lives, unearthing secrets and betraying confidences. Nina, introspective and self-conscious, is seduced by the turbulence of Jess’ life, but also possessive of her bolder friend. Jess, meanwhile, envies the stability of Nina’s world, and wishes to seize it for herself. Now, Jess has re-entered Nina’s life after a long separation. She is in crisis after her father’s death, and says she needs Nina’s help, but Nina fears she may try to take far more than that. Over the course of this novel, they reckon with the truth, the beauty, and the horror of walking in another person’s shoes.