In the 25 years since it was first published, Bunnicula has been a favorite of many children who have just begun to read novels on their own. Something is suspicious about the bunny the Monroe family brings home from the Dracula movie they’ve just seen. The coloring of the fur on his back is shaped like a cape and he seems to have small fangs protruding from his mouth. The bunny sleeps all day, too, and is awake all night. And how is it that all of the vegetables in the Monroe household are being drained of all their juice? Could they be housing a vampire rabbit? The humor of the story is greatly heightened by the fact that it is told from the point of view of the astute family dog, Harold, who along with the family cat, Chester, is always a step or two ahead of the human family members. An author’s note at the beginning tells us how the story came to be and what the response has been to it over the years. (Ages 7–10)

THIS book is written by Harold. His full time occupation is dog. He lives with Mr. and Mrs. X (here called Monroe) and their sons Toby and Pete. Also sharing the home are a cat named Chester and a rabbit named Bunnicula. It is because of Bunnicula that Harold turned to writing. Someone had to tell the full story of what happened in the Monroe household after the rabbit arrived.
It all began when the Monroes went to see the movie Dracula At the theater Toby found something on his seatÑa baby rabbit that he took home and named Bunnicula. It proved to be an apt name, at least as far as Chester was concerned. A well-read and observant cat, he soon decided that there was something odd about the newcomer. For one thing he seemed to have fangs. And the odd markings on his back looked a little like a cape. Furthermore, Bunnicula slept from sunup to sundown. He was awake only at night.
When the family started funding white vegetables, drained dry, with two fang marks in them, Chester was sure Bunnicula was a vampire. But what to do about it. None of the family seemed to grasp the trouble, and Chester's hilarious hints were totally misunderstood.
Was Bunnicula really a vampire? Only Bunnicula knows for sure. But the story of Chester's suspicions and their consequences makes uproarious reading.