''Little Dracula'' is a British series of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

and an American animated television series that originally aired on Fox. ''Little Dracula'' revolves around a green-skinned child

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

who aspires to be like his father, Big Dracula, yet also enjoys

rock 'n roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

and

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

. Little Dracula also has a monstrous friend named Werebunny, and his

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

n family of strange characters is often threatened by the

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

ous Garlic Man.

Book series

The ''Little Dracula'' book series, originally published by

Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

and later reissued in the US through

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books fro ...

, debuted in 1986. It was penned by writer Martin Waddell and

illustrated An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video ...

by Joseph Wright; although, a joke book was written by Alan Durant with illustration by Paul Tempest. The paperback stories, recommended for ages 4–8, rely heavily on Wright's gory yet humorous illustrations. They detail Little Dracula's spooky lifestyle which includes

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

with skulls and drinking a glass of blood before sleeping in his miniature coffin. Other morbid scenes include Mrs. Dracula emptying the brain from a severed head into a frying pan for breakfast and children playing tennis with rackets strung with cat guts. Dubbed "too silly to be truly spooky," the series received praise by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

'' particularly for its meticulous illustrations which were also regarded as "not for the squeamish." While the majority of ''Little Dracula'' books were released during the 1980s and early 1990s, some were reissued in the US as recently October 2001.Amazon.com – Little Dracula's First Christmas
Amazon.com (8 October 2001). Retrieved 4 February 2008. This may have been to capitalize on the brief revitalization of the animated series the prior year.

Animated series

References

External links

Little Dracula World

X-Entertainment's Halloween Countdown! October 27, 2003: Little Dracula Action Figures!

Little Dracula Fan Page on Facebook
{{Dracula Series of children's books British picture books Black comedy books Dracula in written fiction 1986 children's books 1992 in comics Harvey Comics titles Bandai brands Bandai Namco franchises Action figures 1990s toys Parallel literature Walker Books books Children's books about vampires