Vampires of Blinsh

by Daniel Pinkwater, Aaron Renier (Illustrator)

Overview

This witty picture book from children’s luminary Daniel Pinkwater and Aaron Renier offers an insider’s look that will make you completely abandon everything you thought you knew about vampires!
 
Welcome to the village of Blinsh, Pinksylvania, famous for the many vampires that call it home. With a caring look at this town not so different from our own, we hope the reader will get to know more about vampires and see that they are not so different from you or I. It is true, a certain amount of biting happens, but a nip on the neck may just be a vampire’s way of saying, “Hello, let’s be friends.”

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647001582
Publisher:	Abrams
Publication date:	09/22/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	80 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Daniel Pinkwater is, in brief, the author and sometimes illustrator of more than 100 (and counting) books, including his timeless The Big Orange Splot, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also an occasional commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered and appears regularly on Weekend Edition Saturday, where he reviews exceptional kids’ books with host Scott Simon.

Editorial Reviews

10/26/2020

Welcome to Blinsh, in the nation of Pinksylvania. It’s a village where 51% of the population are vampires, “and every family has a least one.” People get bitten on a regular basis—such as the Pinkwater double and nominal protagonist Mr. Papooshnik—but that doesn’t seem to bother the residents nearly as much as the town’s odd gift for producing “the worst-tasting doughnuts anywhere on earth.” Ultimately, the bustling, convivial Blinsh, with its all-vampire fire department, is an object lesson in functioning community—and in this case, “the true friendship and tolerance between normal folk and the undead.” Pictures by Renier (the Unsinkable Walker Bean series), mostly set at night, are packed full of visual jokes and flying bats against spooky, luridly hued skies of blood red, Halloween orange, and Frankenstein green; the underground comics vibe is a good match for Pinkwater’s (Adventures of a Dwergish Girl) off-the-cuff, delightfully woolly narration. Come for the ghoulishness, stay for the literary equivalent of sitting between two expertly silly grown-ups as they devote their considerable talents to making readers giggle. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Skillfully walks the line between funny and frightening."

Horn Book Magazine

"By the last page, Blinsh feels like the real happiest place on Earth."—Kirkus Reviews

"Come for the ghoulishness, stay for the literary equivalent of sitting between two expertly silly grown-ups as they devote their considerable talents to making readers giggle." —Publishers Weekly

"Skillfully walks the line between funny and frightening." —Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

09/18/2020

Gr 2–4—Disingenuously promoting the message that vampires aren't really so bad, this visit to Blinsh, Pinksylvania (village motto: "I'll bring the donuts") profiles both day and night life in a small town where roughly equal numbers of undead and living cohabit in (supposed) amity. Along with meeting several local residents—notably not-yet-dead Jonas Papooshnik who, in Renier's populous town scenes, bears a remarkable resemblance to the author—readers are invited to sample some of the creatively flavored donuts for which the town is renowned (boiled turnip and sauerkraut, anyone?), to participate in the Halloween festivities. These are, unsurprisingly, an annual highlight, and readers even take day (i.e., night) trips to the more bustling burgs of Blorsh and Farshningle. The illustrations open with a detailed aerial map of the town, then go on to depict citizens of diverse garb and skin color flitting about, engaged in familiar nightly activities in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings. Sharper viewers noticing that the expressions on many faces are often angry, dismayed, or fearful may find the narrative's bubbly tone rather suspect…but will likely be up for repeat visits despite the jocund valediction: "Hey, take your teeth off my neck!" VERDICT Younger readers, undead or otherwise, with a taste for armchair travel will definitely bite.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York

School Library Journal

2020-09-01
The vampires of Blinsh may be the most hopeful monsters in all of literature.

Pretty much everyone in Blinsh, Pinksylvania, eats doughnuts, including the creatures of the night. This is true even though they come in flavors like “boiled turnip and sauerkraut.” And yet, Pinkwater notes, “the Blinshites keep buying them and eating them, hoping it will be better this time. It never is.” Nevertheless, the vampires in this picture book are cheerful in general, possibly because they can float in the air, although, as the text points out: “Numerous normal-type Pinksylvanians have learned to do this for short periods, perhaps from vampire neighbors?” This is one of the more eventful passages in the book. If there’s a plot, it may escape the average reader. The book is mostly a travel guide to Blinsh and its environs, but the pages are utterly packed with detail. It might not be possible to get all of the in-jokes. A map of the town shows “Wallywood Amusement Park,” which could be a reference to a cartoonist, the filmmaking capitol of the United States, or even Dollywood (probably not Dollywood). If there is a protagonist, it’s Mr. Papooshnik, who bears a resemblance to the White, Jewish author of the book; the town as a whole is quite diverse. Fans of cult artists may be pleased that the pictures look, faintly, like the gigantic, cartoonish sculptures of Red Grooms. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.7% of actual size.)

By the last page, Blinsh feels like the real happiest place on Earth. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews