Cracked Classics #1: Trapped in Transylvania: Dracula (Cracked Classics) [Paperback]

Tony Abbott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kids can count on more chuckles than chills in this lighthearted spoof of Bram Stoker's timeless tale, which launches the Cracked Classics series. When Devin and Frankie (short for Francine) disrupt their sixth-grade English class, the teacher assigns to them an oral report on Dracula. Spunky narrator Devin complains that it is "full of pages from beginning to end. Not only that. There's printing on every single one of them!" Glancing at the title, he then announces, "That can't be right. Dracula is a movie," to which Frankie replies, "Some book. Doesn't even know what it is." Such buoyant banter keeps this caper cruising along at a quick clip as the two pals fail miserably at their report, and their teacher banishes them to the library. After the librarian gives them the task of taping together a dilapidated copy of Dracula, the pair accidentally sends the book through the library's "zapper gates" (security system), which catapults them to 1897 Transylvania. The classic tale's trappings assume amusing if expectedly inane dimensions through their eyes ("This must be the living tomb.... Sorry, I mean living room," says Frankie as the count gives them a house tour). A concluding note from the duo's librarian plugs the Stoker saga, which just may prompt youngsters to pick up the real thing. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6 When Devin and his friend Francine do poorly on a book report on Dracula, the teacher punishes them by sending them to work in the library. When they accidentally drop a copy of the book behind an old security gate, the sixth graders find themselves in Transylvania, trapped in the classic story. In spite of the offensive premise that being sent to the library is punishment, this story will delight and scare readers. It remains true to Bram Stoker's plot while juxtaposing the thoughts, impressions, and experiences of today's children. Devin and Frankie are wisecracking underachievers and their characterizations and dialogue ring true. Abbott adroitly blends the language in Stoker's tale with their conversations, resulting in laugh-out-loud scenes. Their jokes are old but provide needed relief. While it is clear that the message is "reading is good, fun and important," the author delivers it through the characters and plot, rather than by lecturing. The short chapters, often ending in cliff-hangers, make this a good read-aloud. As an introduction to Stoker's book, it's a great plot summary. And for those looking for a "scary" book, it's a kid's choice. -Molly S. Kinney, Office of Public Library Services, Atlanta, GA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Volo (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786813245
• ISBN-13: 978-0786813247
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,468,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

To begin with, I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and lived in a small house on top of a hill. Together, my mother, a school teacher, and my father, a returning World War II paratrooper pursuing his college studies, brought tons of books into our small house on Cliffview Road. I guess you could say that these books were my first introduction to the world of literature. My father was always writing, so the sound of the typewriter was like the background music of my early childhood.


When I was eight, we relocated, by car, to Connecticut where I finished elementary school and high school. I went to college at the University of Connecticut, majoring first in music (too hard), psychology (too many theories), and finally English (yes! lot and lots of books!). I graduated UConn with a bachelors degree in English Literature. After that, I traveled to Europe for quite a while, drank a lot of coffee, and wrote notebooks full of strange poetry. When I returned, I found work in a variety of bookstores and finally a library where I met my wife to be.


It was when I began reading bedtime stories to my children that the spark of writing I had had for so many years finally turned to children's books. After many failures, my first published book, Danger Guys, was written while taking a writing class with renowned children's author, Patricia Reilly Giff. That first book, and the series that it began, became the cornerstone of my writing career and has become something of a cult favorite, by virtue of its being difficult to find. Since then, I've written over seventy-five books for readers ages 6 to 14, including the cult favorit popular fantasy saga, The Secrets of Droon.


Over 8 million of my books have been sold worldwide, and my series and novels combined have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Korean, French, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, and Russian. Danger Guys was named a Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection, and the American Booksellers Association voted The Secrets of Droon among the "Top 10 List of Books to Read while Waiting for the Next Harry Potter." The series was also a Main Selection of the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club, and is on many school and library reading lists.


In 2007, my novel Firegirl won the Golden Kite Award for Fiction presented by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. It is the only award given by children's writers to children's writers, a peer award I remain honored at having received. It was also a selection of the Junior Library Guild.


In the Spring of 2008, my second novel for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers appeared. The Postcard is a comedy/mystery about a boy who finds a clue on an old postcard while cleaning his recently deceased grandmother's Florida house, and who has no choice but to follow the mystery wherever it leads. Among other things, The Postcard is my love song to Florida's Gulf Coast, where my grandparents lived, and to old Florida, its architecture, roadside attractions, and Wild-West origins. It is, not least, my homage to the great hardboiled tradition of Hammett and Chandler, translated to a Florida setting. The Postcard won the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery.

In 2009, The Haunting of Derek Stone, a series of four books for older readers, appeared from Scholastic Inc. Titles include: City of the Dead, Bayou Dogs, The Red House, and The Ghost Road.

My literary and cultural interests include the films of Preston Sturges, the Road pictures of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and the Marx Brothers, and the writings of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, P.G. Wodehouse, Jules Verne, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Seamus Heaney, Emily Dickinson, Ted Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, The Arabian Nights, Beowulf, James Thurber, Philip Roth, Ralph Ellison, and William Faulkner. I'm currently a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Yale Center for British Art, and other esteemed organizations. With my wonderful wife, two delightful and brilliant daughters, and the best dog imaginable, I live and work happily in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny being to "Cracked Classics", August 8, 2002

By 

hiphopgirl_1000 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracked Classics #1: Trapped in Transylvania: Dracula (Cracked Classics) (Paperback)

Sixth graders Devin Bundy and his pal Frankie Lang are your two tradition class troublemakers. After their teacher finds out they haven't read the book assigned to them in class, she punishes them by telling them to write a report on the book "Dracula" and get sentenced to library duty and work with the funny Mrs. Figglehopper(what a name!) Soon they are sent off by Mrs. Figglehopper to repair the damaged library books and before they know what is happening they are zapped by the library's secruity system to 1897 Translyvania and right into Bram Stoker's vampire classic "Dracula"(Yes, we are talking the real thing here!) To their horror, the two mischiveous trouble makers find out that the only way to leave is to...READ!! I recommend all kids to read this hilirous book. It is perfect for kids just starting to get into chapter books!

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Depressingly Anti-Literate, October 14, 2002

By 

Rachel Crane (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracked Classics #1: Trapped in Transylvania: Dracula (Cracked Classics) (Paperback)

Although I picked up this book expecting a laugh, I put it down in sadness. I truly regret giving my money to Volo publishers for this 'book.' The intended audience for this work appears to be kids who do not enjoy reading. It's good to give such tykes literary counterparts whom they can relate to. Yet "Trapped in Transylvania" would discourage even the most voracious of readers. The narration, characters, and expecially the dialogue are tired, hackneyed, and trite. The starring kids speak in nothing but antiquated slang. This is the type of book/preachy-after-school-special that has always made me very uphappy, ever since I started reading. Everything is dumbed down, the kids are expected to act like brainless fools, and the story itself is unrewarding. I was not surprised to learn that this series' publisher is owned by Disney. "Cracked Classics" appear to be another tool used to encourage kids to enjoy tv, movies and bad music more than literature. Young'uns may not be ready for the actual "Dracula" yet, but their minds (our socio-cultural future) deserve far better than this.