cover image I Love My Fangs!

I Love My Fangs!

Kelly Leigh Miller. Simon & Schuster, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5344-5210-7

Vampires—they’re just like humans! At least that’s the case in Miller’s comics-style picture book about young Dracula losing his first fang. When one of his beloved pointy fangs falls out, he stresses, trying everything he knows to push it back in. Later that night, his sadness and embarrassment over being a one-fanged vampire turn into downright panic when a glowing fairy flits over to his coffin bed to retrieve the prized item clutched in his hand (“She is stealing my fang!”). Drac’s calm and kindly parents—Dad clad in vampire-bunny slippers—set him straight, and thanks to quick vampire healing, he’s not fangless for long. Miller’s simple cartoons flow across boldly colored panels spotlighting the humorous details of Dracula’s day (a blood juice box at the school lunch table with a yeti and a witch; bat pajamas and a coffin bed). The large font—mostly in red—and spare, exclamatory text will entice beginning readers, who may well have a wiggly fang, er, tooth, of their own. Ages 4–8. [em](July) [/em]