Vampires Move In on Dick and Jane: Sneak Peek

on July 29, 2010 at 7:30 AM

Dick and Jane and Vampires First the zombies and sea monsters took over Jane Austen's classics.

How long did you expect the creepy creatures to wait until they took over children's classic fare?

Dick and Jane has officially joined the ranks of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibilities and Sea Monsters with a visit from the vampires.

Grab your garlic because The Stir got you a sneak peek.

Call Dick and Jane and Vampires "Twilight for the kiddie set."

No, really, if you're a Twi-hater, you'll probably find the language is on the same level, but the story's substantially more subtle.

A taste:

"Look, Dick.

Look, Jane.

Look up.

Look up at the sky."

Any guesses what's up there? Hint: It's daytime. And it's black, with wings.

The tales are strikingly similar to the Dick and Jane of your childhood (and Grandma's and Great-Grandma's too -- this series started in the 1930s).

The freak in the carriage is the scariest it gets:

And apparently Stephenie Meyer had something right: Vampires are quiet athletic:

vampire jumping rope There are always the horrors of doing chores that your kids will identify with:

vampire doing laundry The book hits shelves in late August. So what do you think? Gag gift for a Twilight fan? Must-have for the kids?

Images via Tommy Hunt/Penguin Young Readers

About the author Jeanne Sager

writes articles for The Stir by day, slays closet monsters and bounds through bedtime stories with her elementary schooler by night. Diet Pepsi courses through her veins. The Phineas and Ferb soundtrack reverberates through her brain.

Filed Under: children's books, fun & games

Comments (5)

RanaAurora

on Jul 29, 2010 at 11:22 AM

I totally want this. :)

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APeveteaux

on Jul 29, 2010 at 12:29 PM

We're reading our way through all of the Dick and Jane books. I'm not a Twi-hard, by any means, but I think both my daughter and I would get a kick out of this. Awesome find!

Xakana

on Jul 29, 2010 at 1:21 PM

I totally want this, too.

Although I am tired of Twilight always being the go-to and everyones "hurr hurr" (seriously? Find a new joke set, it's old). I loved vampires well over a decade before Stephenie Meyer had her dream that inspired the series (the same way Stephen King gets his inspiration, btw, and she's on a purely technical level, a better freaking writer).

Come on, many of us moms are the age where our Vampire love would have come from Buffy ;) (In my case, Anita Blake, but nothign will ever beat Buffy) or that hot scene in Bram Stoker's Dracula where Gary Oldman brings over Mina with her "Take me away from all this... death..." and he totally goes while she takes HIS blood.

It took me until today to realize that my daughter likes vampires because of Max in Max and Ruby (again, older than Twilight) ;) So it's a good gag gift for all SORTS of vampire fans. Don't pigeonhole it ;)

truthrowan

on Jul 29, 2010 at 1:29 PM

Xakana is right, it's Buffy for me. I was too young when Interiview with the Vampire came out to care, but I grew up on Buffy and Angel, and that's where it came from.