The barnyard residents of particular farm know that a fearsome Hampire roams at night in this rhyming picture-book send-up of the vampire tale, and keep to their beds accordingly. But then one night Duck needs a snack, and sets in motion a chain of events in which he, Red the chicken and Pony all flee before the frightening porcine menace. But is all as it seems? Or is the Hampire just misunderstood...?

Although I like the idea of a barnyard pastiche of the vampire genre, and appreciated the funny title here - Hampire! reminds me a bit of the classic Bunnicula in that respect - I was less than impressed with this one. The story felt too obvious, the rhyming scheme was awkward, and I just couldn't work up much interest in what would happen. The artwork by Howard Fine, who has illustrated some of Margie Palatini's tales, was humorous and fun, but it wasn't enough to save the book for me. Overall this is not one I would really recommend. ( )

Fun for reading aloud. ( )