Bob the Vampire Snail is a cute and slightly spooky book about a snail named Bob who somehow becomes a vampire. While the idea of a snail turning into a vampire sounds odd, Zuill really makes it work with humor. When Bob starts to get hungry but none of his regular foods taste good, we’re treated to humorous antics like trying to eat another snail and then saying “mistakes were made” and fun footnotes from another narrator bug that teach us about snails and also vampires. This would be a super fun read-aloud during October for any elementary students.  Even during other times of the year, this would be a fun read about friendship: Bob has a hard time finding friends, but in the end finds a worm who’s become a vampire, and they “hang” out together (literally as they hang like bats). This would be a fun way to talk to students about finding “their people” and the different things we might have in common. I appreciated that this is very age-appropriate for elementary readers: the vampire snail ends up eating tomatoes, so there’s no blood or gore aspects but still retains that fun, spooky element. This would be a great addition to any school or public library that serves 1st through 4th graders who enjoy spooky reads.  The humor, the narrator who provides levity and interesting facts, the blend of fiction and non-fiction, and the fun plotline made this a five-star read for me.

Reviewed by Katy Jones, Gardiner Area High School Library, Gardiner