What would YOU do if. . .

What would you do if a vampire came to your house for dinner? Author Pamela Jane has the perfect solution! She's written a book for youngsters that is sure to tickle their funny bones and she's stopped by to share the inspiration for writing, A Vampire Is Coming to Dinner! Ten Rules to follow. Penguin Books for Young Readers, Aug 2010.


Here's what Pam has to say about The Ultimate Book on Vampire Etiquette:

"Believe it or not, I had no idea vampires would become so wildly popular when I first conceived of the idea for A Vampire is Coming to Dinner! 10 Rules to Follow. The book had its genesis in a tickling fame I used to play with my daughter, when she was little. She would come home from school, flop down on the bed, and beg me to tickle her.

'Please?' she would say. 'Just for a minute?'

So we'd play the vampire tickling game. I'd try to tickle her neck and tell her a vampire was coming to dinner and he would be very hungry. Or thirsty. And was hiding her neck a polite way to treat a thirsty vampire?

It was a silly game, and I never dreamed I'd write a book based on the idea. But I love lists (thus the 10 rules), especially lists I write that tell me what I'm supposed to be doing. And while all the picture books I've published have been rhyming books, I've always wanted to try writing a "concept" book. So I got the idea of the list of rules the boy in the story writes to get himself through the scary, ultimately silly, confrontation with a vampire. As you'll see, he breaks every single one! Pedro Rodriguez's modern, imaginative illustrations add the perfect vampire-ish touch.

I hope you'll enjoy reading A Vampire is Coming to Dinner! and discovering what mischief lurks behind each "lift the flap" frame. And that, like a little boy at a school I recently visited, you'll think 'The Vampire book really rocks.'"

A Vampire is Coming to Dinner! 10 Rules to Follow  by Pamela Jane, illus.by Pedro Rodriguez, Price Stern Sloan, $7.99 ISBN 978-0-8431-9964-2 After a Nosferatu-like vampire announces an unexpected visit to a boy's house. . .what follows is a list of rules. . .which appear on flaps within  antique golden picture frames. Kids will delight in lifting each flap to reveal retro-styled spreads in which the boy outwits the vampire at every turn--welcoming him with spotlights, candles, and lamps ("Make sure all the lights are off"). . .the book is a ghoulishly good time. Ages 3-up. (Aug.) Publisher's Weekly review
Order it here: http://amzn.to/9RGOXO
I know you'll want to learn more about Pamela Jane. You can do that right now by clicking on these links:
http://www.pamelajane.com (Great site, Pamela!)
http://blog.pamelajane.com/  

It'll be more fun to look at Pamela's web-site, but let me just share that she is the author of 26 books for children, including Noelle of the Nutcracker, illustrated by Jan Brett (Houghton Mifflin) which has been optioned for a film. Her featured book, A Vampire is Coming to Dinner! 10 Rules to Follow will be released on August 12--that's tomorrow--and Ten Little Goblins is forthcoming from Harper, 2011. If you have kids, then you've seen her books in Scholastic and Weekly Reader Book Clubs, and on ALA "Pick of the Lists". 

Wait! Keep reading. We have a ghoulishly fun surprise just for you!

Pamela Jane has generously donated a copy of her featured book:  A Vampire is Coming to Dinner! 10 Rules to Follow  and will personalize it to one of the lucky readers who drop by to leave us a comment. You know how much we all love to hear from readers. You can simply write in to say that you enjoyed reading the post, or what we would really love to know is what RULE you would make if a vampire was coming to your house for dinner! Put those thinking caps on. The clock will strike at midnight on August 18.  The winner will be selected by random.com and maybe it will be YOU!