Have You Seen the Dublin Vampire?

Picture book recommendation for Halloween … This gorgeously illustrated picture book takes you on a tour of some of the most famous sights of Dublin, with the Dublin Vampire “hiding” on each page ... The Dublin Vampire is nice and easy to spot for young readers, but there is so much more to enjoy on each spread – the Vampire’s bat, plus a mother and daughter who are also on a tour of the city, appear somewhere on each page! My daughter loved looking at everyone’s umbrellas as they crossed O’Connell Bridge over the River Liffey. My daughter’s favourite page, unsurprisingly, was the one with the pumpkins! She loved saying the sounds the fireworks made. This is a delightful debut that will make you want to visit Dublin! Úna’s striking illustrations capture the diversity of the city. Packed with hidden gems and little details, you’ll notice more each time you read it. Have You Seen the Dublin Vampire? is a refreshing and unique Halloween read!

* PictureBookPerfect *

'a wonderfully exciting and colourful picture book that deserves a place in all school and home libraries. This hardback picture book tells the story of a Vampire who travels around the various sights and well known spots of Dublin. Taking in Trinity College, the River Liffey and Grafton Street to name just a few, this book is specific to the Irish context and allows for children or adults to make connections to the famous landmarks of Dublin. For children, seeing pictures of and hearing the names of famous Dublin landmarks is a sure strong point of this book, however it’s rhyming word patterns throughout mean that even the youngest of children would seek enjoyment from a read-aloud by guessing the sentence endings of the rhyming words. The illustrations are eye-catching with a use of black and colourful patterns pre-dominantly, would serve as a catalyst for many discussions or art lessons’ By Ciara Barry, 2nd Class Teacher, Scoil na Croise Naofa, Mahon, Co. Cork

* Seomra Ranga *

a gorgeous book with fabulous illustrations, bursting with all the excitement that an outing in a big city entails. A vibrant Dublin comes to life against a backdrop of softly glowing streetlamps and star-studded skies. Even though the story is set at night, the images are bright and colourful.  The characters’ clothing and the city’s lights explode, just like the story’s Halloween firework display, against shades of purple and autumnal oranges ... Refreshingly modern, Have You Seen the Dublin Vampire! depicts the more stylish and culturally diverse identity that now belongs to Dublin. Evoking a dynamic city, the illustrations are full of activity, bustling crowds, buskers, babies and busy animals. Dublin’s roguish pigeons are brazenly stealing doughnuts and there are ducks, swans and goslings in Stephen's Green. We pass seagulls, one of the Liffey’s elegant herons and a cheeky squirrel eyes a bun in Bewley’s…what an impressive debut! I hope it's just the first of many more to come. The vampire is cute rather than scary, and there is not much text on each page, making this suitable for babies and toddlers. Young children love interactive books and repetition, and the question "Have You Seen the Dublin Vampire?" (asked all the way through the book) allows for both. My three and five-year-olds loved this and I could see it being enjoyed by older kids too. This beautiful hardback edition would make a fantastic Halloween-themed gift, especially as it's unclear whether children will be able to go trick or treating this year. It would also make a wonderful birthday or Christmas present. Atmospheric, intriguing, and most importantly, lots of fun, this is the perfect book for the whole family to sink their teeth into on dark October evenings!

-- picturebooksnob.com

charming

-- Irish Examiner

With a wonderful, easy to follow rhyming text, this is a journey through Dublin with a most unlikely tour guide, the Dublin Vampire. A positively delightful story, it is sure to be enjoyed by even the youngest readers. The bright, cheerful illustrations light up the background night palette with colour and happy smiling faces as you turn from page to page, spotting our friendly vampire friend all over the city. But everyone in the book is too busy rushing around to notice him! This offers a quiet suggestion that, if you take the time to look around you, you never know what or who you’ll see. Happy, fun and full of charm, you’ll love the Dublin Vampire

-- Fallen Star Stories

‘A friendly looking vampire takes a night-time stroll through the fair city’s iconic spots, hopping on the ghost bus, battling the rain and partaking in Bewley’s finest buns. The characters populating the pages are as diverse as they are stylish, with bright patterned outfits that mark them off the dark backgrounds. The night setting is refreshing and absolutely not scary, and young readers will love being involved in the text by the search and-find element and feeling that bit special’

* Children's Books Ireland *

This lovely hardback picture book is beautifully illustrated with colourful pictures that will help keep younger readers captivated … most suitable for junior and senior infant classes as they can search each page to find the Dublin Vampire and is especially apt as we approach Halloween

* InTouch Magazine *

A fangtastic read for little ones

* Irish Independent *

The stylish, bright illustrations are superb

* Irish Independent *

It's wonderful … the colour palette is gorgeous … there's a real diversity to the spread of characters... you'll find all of the richness of Dublin as it is at the moment

* Virgin's Ireland AM *

The stylish, vibrant illustrations are superb. This little charmer is one of the strongest debuts of the year

* Irish Independe