Jampires

May 25, 2015
When Samâs doughnut is left âwrinkly and dry,â completely drained of its filling, who could be to blame? Two suspicious fangmarks are the only clue. Sam wonât stand for this kind of insult, so he âset a trap before going to bed/ and used his dry doughnut as bait./ In place of the jam he used ketchup instead,/ then hid under the covers to wait.â His laundry-basket trap nabs two pale âjampiresâ with enormous round eyes, pointy-eared hoods, and lips red with jam (or, at the moment, ketchup). Though jam and blood look a lot alike, McIntyre and OâConnell play this story for laughsâthereâs never a moment of concern that the jampires might turn their fangs on Sam. Instead, they apologize profusely (they simply wandered too far from home and got hungry) and take the boy on a whirlwind tour of the Candyland-like âland of the Jampires,â which is filled with mountainous desserts and layer-cake cities, as well as cookies, macarons, and other goodies. Galloping verse and cartoons dusted with humor and magic add up to a light, dessert-themed mystery thatâs both silly and sweet. Ages 3â5.

April 1, 2015
Some fiends have sucked the jam out of Sam's doughnut! Who are the perpetrators of this wicked deed? Jampires, of course. Just like their more sinister counterparts in the Twilight vein, Jampires swoop down in the night and steal the sweet stuff, leaving only a telltale dab of red on their tiny fangs. But young Sam is more than a match for them. Setting a trap in his bedroom with a ketchup-laced doughnut as bait, he manages to trap the jam-thirsty pair. Together they fly off to a magical land of desserts in the sky, "where Jampire moms perched under a sugar frosted dome" and a giant jar of jam soars above mountains of blueberry pie and, of course, ...doughnuts. The tale ends happily when the Jampire moms, delighted with the safe return of their two "jammy dodgers," reward Sam with a flown-in daily supply of luscious, jam-packed doughnuts. British author-illustrator team McIntyre and O'Connell have succeeded in creating a highly original narrative with text engagingly arranged. Skillful use is made of speech balloons in varying shapes, and key words-"hullabaloo," "Slurp," "CLANG"-are visually highlighted. And it's hard to beat these two little jam-smeared monsters for cuteness. A satisfying concept, friendly, Sendak-inspired colored-pencil-and-pastel illustrations, cartoonish attractiveness, and plain old wackiness make this sweet story a winner. (Picture book. 5-8)

May 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-Sam is bewildered when he discovers that his jelly doughnut has been sucked dry. Exasperated and determined to solve the mystery, he sets a trap. Using a hamper and a ketchup-filled doughnut, Sam waits. It doesn't take very long to capture the two, small culprits. The prisoners turn out to be "jampires," magical creatures who subsist on jam. The jampires apologize for their thievery, explaining that they are far from home and got hungry. After befriending Sam, they fly him to their homeland. The land of jampires is full of dessert: an enormous jar of jam, mountains of blueberry pie, sherbet snow, ice cream moon, and sponge cake castles. Finally home, the jampires are reunited with their mothers, who are grateful to Sam. They express their thanks via daily baskets of jam-filled doughnuts. The jampires no longer take Sam's jam, but readers should beware. The detailed cartoon illustrations are rendered with pencil and watercolor in a muted palette across full-bleed spreads. Much of the conversation appears in traditional cartoon word bubbles. VERDICT A good choice for the playful storytime.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

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