Customer Reviews

Nighty-Nightmare (Bunnicula)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you like scary books then this book is for you. If you like funny books then this book is for you. I like the scariness of the book. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. It has a big surprise at the end!

As much as Harold would love to put mystery, horror, and suspense behind him, and spend his days lounging about the kitchen waiting for his next chocolate treat; with Chester the neurotic, hare-brained, paranoid kitty quickly dashes those dreams, and does the unthinkable - drags Harold into his next crazy scheme. While Harold, Howie, and Chester are accompanying the Monroe family on an impromptu camping trip, Chester announces to his canine comrades that May 5 - Saint George's Day - is upon them; thus, spirits will be hovering about the moment the clock strikes midnight. Harold instantly knows that this is the worst possible time to be camping in the creepy woods, especially with such inexperienced campers such as Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, and their budding Boy Scouts, Toby and Pete. But when the Monroe's run into two bumbling men - Bud and Spud - along with their scruffy dog, Dawg, the Monroe pets know that something fishy is surrounding them. Howie is instantly mesmerized by Dawg, and becomes his bosom buddy; Harold is trying to accept the stubby-legged pooch simply as a new friend; but Chester is convinced that Dawg is nothing but trouble, set-up to lure them away from the Monroe's so that Bud and Spud can do all sorts of evil things to the unsuspecting humans. When Dawg suggests a trip through the woods to show the Monroe pets something interesting, Howie, Harold, and Chester are only too eager to go. But when they discover that they seem to be lost in the woods, they begin to wonder whether Dawg intentionally lured them away from their owners, or if there was simply a glitch in his tracking. When they're unable to find their way back to the campsite, Chester is the first to freak out, and finds himself worrying about leaving the Monroe's overnight, in the hands of spirits run amok, not to mention the bizarre Bud and Spud. But the boys find it difficult to lose Dawg, and make their way back to camp before it's too late, and they never see the Monroe's again. Chester is convinced that the only possible way to escape from Dawg's clutches is to tell him a bedtime story that will, hopefully, lull him to sleep, and create the perfect escape plan for the Monroe pets. But as soon as Chester begins the tale, it turns into a horrific, hare-raising story about the origins of their bunny brother, Bunnicula, and his life as a vampire amongst human vampires in both Transylvania and England. The trouble with Chester's story, is that, while it is a spooky tale that many would love to hear around the campfire; it poses many frightening thoughts, and serves to give each of the four-legged creatures nightmares, as opposed to a peaceful doze. Now Chester and Harold have no idea whether Dawg will be able to get some shut-eye, or find himself on edge all night, all thanks to Chester's creepy creation. And without Dawg falling asleep, the end could be quite near for the Monroe's.

While I never read anything by James Howe when I was younger; over the past couple of years, I have found myself drawn to his BUNNICULA series, making me incapable of resisting any of his stories about the Monroe family pets. NIGHTY-NIGHTMARE proves the same. As with the previous books, Chester seems to be the most neurotic character in the tale - which isn't that unusual for a feline. His constant musings about horror stories, and creepy legends set the reader on edge; while his ability to cause paranoia in his canine brothers is humorous, and really lends a laugh to the story. Harold is his usual self, thinking about nothing more than tasty S'mores, long naps, and dinner. His narration is enjoyable; while his easy-going, laid-back attitude provides a more relaxed edge to the story. Howie, on the other hand, is as rambunctious as ever. The little pup seems to go a mile a minute with his rapid thoughts; and his trusting nature can sometimes make the reader worry about his safety, as he manages to get himself into all sorts of trouble. Howie truly embodies the spirit of a puppy, and I have to give Howe credit for managing to get inside a pup's head, and giving him a unique, playful, voice of a youngster. While Bunnicula is not really present throughout NIGHTY-NIGHTMARE - except for the role he plays during Chester's scary story - he is replaced by Dawg, a country dog with an attitude. Dawg is a fun addition to the story. His oft-times clueless nature, and ability to bring out the panic in Chester is humorous; while his kind treatment of Howie makes you instantly like him. While Dawg often comes off as shady, or being up-to-something, he easily redeems himself many times, so that the reader has mixed feelings about his character. Howe has woven another delightful tale from THE HOUSE OF BUNNICULA that will keep readers occupied long into the night. A word of advice, if you're headed on a camping trip, leave NIGHTY-NIGHTMARE at home.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

This book was a little childish and choppy but it was good. It was a total speed-read and it only took me about an hour to read it. It was cool that it was about animals and the author used pretty good personification. The kids were really annoying though. Good book.

Nighty Nightmare by James Howe is a hilarious,scary mystery allwound into one book. From Chester the reading cat to the dog named"Dawg," I guarantee that you will laugh along, yet be scaredat the same time. This book kept me on my toes and I couldn't put itdown. Harold the dog narrator will explain things in a way that makesit seem real.

I like this book a lot. It is a great tale of laughter, thrills, and chills. I love the way they put it on May 5 Saint Georges day. Plus the story they tell about Bunnicula. It is definitly a tale to make you scream. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

It starts out as a family outing and ends up as a horror story! But most of all, I liked the story within a story which was the story of Bunnicula's parents-Bella and Boris. Boris and Bella are the results of an experiment done by a scientist who is immortal. "Nighty Nightmare" is definitely one of James Howe's better stories. I also liked "Bunnicula A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery" and "Howliday Inn".

Let me start out by saying I am a huge fan of the original Bunnicula story and I would rate it 5 stars. I gave the original to my five year old nephew for Halloween this year and he loved it. It was just spooky enough to be exciting for him without being too scary. Since he was so thrilled with it, I went ahead and bought him the entire series and of course he immediately asked me to read one of them to him - he happened to pick Nighty-Nightmare. It started out fine, Howard is as loveable as ever. From there, however, I was increasingly disappointed. (Let me say at this point that we ran out of time reading halfway through the book so my comments pertain to the first half.) These are the problems I personally had with the story:

First: It's a "Bunnicula" story without Bunnicula. Would you expect to pick up a "Nancy Drew" story and not have Nancy Drew in it?

Second: Other than Howard, I didn't like the animal characters. Howie I didn't care about one way or the other (I will concede that I may have felt differently about him if I'd read the books in order and was introduced to him properly.) Chester, whose flights of imagination seemed so amusing in the first Bunnicula story merely seemed annoying in this story, for some reason I can't put my finger on. The character of "Dawg" is supposed to by mysterious, I presume, but I just found him to be weird and unpleasant.

Third: The premise of this book is just flat out creepy, and not in a good way. A family in the woods alone with two men who are described in a very menacing way, and much is made of the big, scary knife they have. I had to edit on the fly, eliminating any mention of the knife as I read, but unfortunately there was an illustration of the two men as well, portraying them with the knife. Another reviewer mentioned these men and the premise were very much like "Deliverance" and that is also the thought I had throughout. Granted a child will not have seen that movie. But I feel the concept is a frightening one on a very visceral level. A family cut off from help, alone in the woods with two men who are deliberately described in a way to make them appear as psychopaths. Of course by the end of the story it may turn out their intentions are perfectly harmless but I'm not sure it matters. A child reading this book is presented with a very terrifying scenario. A cute little bunny with fangs slipping through his bars at night to drain vegetables can easily be understood as "pretend" or "make believe" - strangers harming families is all too real. I had to edit like crazy mad through the whole story to tone down the psychopath descriptions of the men and the evil spirit hype about the woods.

There are other, smaller nitpicks I have. The illustrations aren't done very well at all. Chester tells a "ghost story" in the middle of the book which is way too long, detracting from the flow of the book and doesn't serve any useful purpose to the story overall. Plus, again it suffers from being unneccessarily morbid. It starts out with the mother of the two main characters collapsing and her sons fear she is dying and the rest of it is rather bizarre.

In looking at the description I see the book is described as being for ages 8-12 and my nephew at 5 is a little young, but even if he were 8+, this isn't a book I would have bought for him or any other child had I realized it bore so little resemblance to the first. I only gave it 2 stars instead of 1 star to allow for the fact that the second half may have improved. Hopefully the other books in the series are better and this one was just a fluke.

This book was really cool because it brings you right into the story. You feel like you are part of the story. You get to know the main characters which are three dogs and a cat. They get lost in the woods while they are camping. Two of the dogs and the cat follow a new dog they met named Dawg around and he brings them to a scary place with a ton of rabbits, one with red eyes and fangs! They have to find there way back to their family and find a lot of adventure on the way. You will have to read for yourself to find out if they ever make it back to their family. I would recommend this book to kids around the age of 9-11. Younger kids might get scared. Have a good time reading this book!

One of the few things my struggling reader would finish. He's a goofy kind of guy, so this is his kind of book. This is one of the series he liked especially.

Mr. Monroe--with a bit of help from Harold, the book-writing dog--has gotten it into his head that an overnight camping trip is just the type of adventure the family needs. So the Monroes pack up and head out into the woods, bringing along their faithful pets (excepting the vampire bunny, Bunnicula, who's missed out on yet another adventure by being boarded with friends).

Both Harold and the excitable pup, Howie, look forward to the fun of the woods and cozy fireside time with the family (Harold especially because of the promise of s'mores). But the ever-reluctant Chester the cat swears that, with the approach of Saint George's Day, all that awaits their family is doom at the hands of evil spirits lurking behind the trees.

It's easy for Harold to dismiss Chester's notions until the Monroes run across two strange men and their brain-dead bulldog, Dawg. When Dawg leads the pets away from the humans only to get them lost in the woods, Harold and Chester come up with a plan to sneak away and save their family. However, they have to put Dawg to sleep with a story first, and Chester's chosen tale of Bunnicula's origins makes for one creepy bedtime lullaby.

Remembering this book from when I originally read it as a child, this one still sticks in my mind as the most boring of the BUNNICULA series. The story-within-a-story is rather distracting, and lacks that bit of credibility that makes the rest of the books so appealing.

Still, if you like a good parody of the old monster movie origin stories, this would be the book to go to.

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose