CASKETBALL CAPERS

Lee Price is like every other normal 9-year-old boy … except he is a vampire.

Each night he wakes up and goes to St. Orlok’s Elementary School, where he learns vampire essentials such as cloak swishing, scary staring and, most importantly, cooking without garlic. On the night of the big casketball game (which is precisely what it sounds like), Lee’s class is also learning the best lesson yet: how to turn into a bat. During the game, however, players are strictly forbidden to do any kind of transformation. But one player on the opposing team—the Chaney Street Werewolves—keeps pushing and growling his way to the casket, without the ref’s noticing. Lee must figure out how to play fair but still win. The setting may be unusual, but the dilemmas Lee faces are universal and immediately recognizable. Harrison’s loosely sketched spot illustrations capture the narrative’s unexpected humor, giving the young vampires a wide-eyed innocence and a gangly, almost bobble-head appearance.

A fast-paced, linear story for chapter-book vampire enthusiasts; this kicks off a series.