Mona the Vampire (book)

Mona the Vampire is a children's book written and illustrated by Sonia Holleyman and first published in 1990 by Orchard Books. The book is well known for being the original of Holleyman's Mona the Vampire book series as well as being the basis of a television series named after it. The story centers around a young girl named Mona and her pet cat, Fang, who pretend to be vampires together because of their short-term obsession with spooky stories.

Plot

The story begins as a girl named Mona and her pet cat, Fang, are being read a spooky bedtime story by Mona's father (later known as Lenny Parker in the television series) which they find very intriguing, causing her desire to become a vampire that night before she goes to sleep.

Early the next morning, Mona and Fang were experimenting and finding things to match their ideas of vampire costumes. Mona's mother made them lunch with farfetched foods such as "batwing soup", and Mona took Fang outside to teach him some "important things that vampires need to know". Then they played "hide-and-seek-a-vampire" and "suck-my-blood". The book then shows an example of Mona obeying her mother (later known as Veronica Parker in the television series) as she tells Mona to clean her room.

The next morning, Mona makes her own school lunch to help her mother and went to school, taking Fang with her. At lunchtime (according to the picture on the page), Mona expressed her views on vampires, causing everyone to become uncomfortable and to be driven away from her. After this, the book shows an example of Mona at the gym as she "practiced tying all her special knots" (tying up the other classmates).

Later that day, Mona and Fang were painting on the classroom wall, and the teacher (later known as Miss Gotto in the television series) shouted that she is tired of the trouble that Mona is causing and that she doesn't want Mona in her class. She sent for the principal (later known as Ivan Shawbly in the television series), and he simply said that "enough is enough" and that "something must be done". Because of this, Mona and Fang joined a ballet class to "calm her down". They taught the ballerinas some vampire tricks of which the teacher, Mr. Kersley, did not approve.

When it was time to go home, Mona pedaled home with Fang, taking a shortcut beside a local graveyard. As it started to rain and storm, it reminded Mona of things from the spooky stories which she is obsessed with, and she became spooked, causing her to pedal faster. When Mona and Fang were back home, they were sick and tired from the storm. Mona's mother made them hot chocolate, sent them straight to the bath and then to bed.

That night, Mona had nightmares about "wicked witches and ghostly ghouls". In the morning, Mona put away all the parts of her vampire costume and decided to get over her obsession with vampires. The story ends that night as Mona's father reads Mona and Fang a bedtime story about space invaders.

Reception

A 1991 Publishers Weekly magazine article described Mona the Vampire as a "droll debut [that] features vivid, cartoony art replete with outlandish images that will tickle kids' funnybones, and maybe other bones as well." It also claimed that the book is suitable for ages 4-9.^[1]

In a 2007 article of the Canadian regional newspaper Waterloo Region Record (at the time known as The Record), editor Lynn Haddrall mentioned that Mona the Vampire was one of the books that she found under a Christmas tree in the lobby during a Books for Kids event, along with Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes by Margaret Atwood, and a picture book based on the animated film The Lion King. Haddrall described that these three book donations are "a good thing, because [Books for Kids needs] to provide books for many age levels."^[2]

References