Gibbus Moony Wants to Bite You!

by Leslie Muir, Jen Corace (Illustrator)

Overview

Move over Edward Cullen! There’s a new cute vampire in town.

Gibbus Moony’s grownup fangs have finally grown in. Now all he wants to do is chomp on something juicy! All day Gibb hunts high and low for his first unsuspecting victim. But just when he thinks he’s found the perfect bite, he may discover something even more fang-tabulous to sink his teeth into. Humor, heart, and charming illustrations make this a toothsome treat for Halloween promotions and beyond!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442443273
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/09/2011
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
File size:	52 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Leslie Muir is a writer, painter, and poet. She is the author of Gibbus Moony Wants to Bite You!, illustrated by Jen Corace; forthcoming Barry B. Wary (Disney-Hyperion, May 2011), to be illustrated by Carrie Gifford, and The Little Bitty Bakery (Disney-Hyperion, August 2011), to be illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Leslie lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two sons.You can visit her at lesliemuir.com.

Jen Corace is the illustrator of Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration.  She also creates fine art, with a focus on the Victorian and Edwardian eras.  You can visit her at jencorace.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gibbus Moony is a budding vampire who must come to terms with his family's unusual pacifist palate: "We're fruit suckers, my boy," says Grandpa Waxing Moony, "and proud of it." For Gibbus, however the big enchilada, so to speak, is "Something that moved. Something that... noticed." But Gibbus is inadvertently thwarted in his quest for human blood by Moe, a friendly (and normal) neighbor who has an annoying baby sister with biting problems of her own. "Biting is for babies," Moe announces, unaware of his new friend's backstory, and that's all it takes for Gibbus to embrace "nectarian" family values and a new concept of "toothsome." Corace is on familiar ground: she's proved herself to be a virtuoso at portraying unlikely but thoroughly likable rebels in her books with Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Little Pea, etc.). She doesn't have nearly the same magic with debuting author Muir, whose flabby storytelling is in marked contrast to Corace's sharp, visual wit and crisp lines. It's an offbeat take on the popular culture's vampire obsession, but not a wholly successful one. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Corace is on familiar ground: she's proved herself to be a virtuoso at portraying unlikely but thoroughly likable rebels...an offbeat take on the popular culture's vampire obsession."

—Publishers Weekly, June 20, 2011

“All goes down well, coupled with Corace’s deft acrylic, watercolor and pen-and-ink images of Gibbus’ humorous process of figuring things out. Get ready for many year-round requests for this “fangtastic” title.”

—Kirkus, August 1, 2011

“The illustrations, done in pen, ink with watercolor, and acrylic, are clean and crisp…fun art.”

—School Library Journal, September 2011

From the Publisher

K-Gr 2—A young vampire is anxious to try out his new fangs on all sots of things, even after his family explains that they are nectarians (fruit suckers). Gibbus wants to chew on his toys, a photo album, a violin. But nothing is satisfying. He next tries his sleeping grandfather's ear, but it's a mere tickle. Outside he tries to bite the gardener but is shooed away like a mosquito. Gibbus is frustrated and falls asleep under a tree. He's awakened by something pecking on his nose. It's a little girl. He decides that she and her brother would be a perfect test for his new fangs. He threatens to bite the boy, who convinces him that biting is for babies. They become friends instead and make plans for the next day. The vampire goes home and announces to his family that he's past his biting stage. The illustrations, done in pen, ink with watercolor, and acrylic, are clean and crisp with very little background. They are also potentially confusing. While Gibbus and his family members are all quite pale and sport fangs, he is the only one with bat cape. Despite the fun art and the positive message, some might feel that this title takes the vampire craze a bit too far.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

School Library Journal

Incorrigible young vampire Gibbus Mooney cannot wait to try out his new grown-up fangs.

He really wants to sink his teeth into "...something big. Something that moved. Something that...noticed." As much as he wants to bite a person's neck, though, his family condemns such bloodsucking behavior. They are proud, fruit-sucking "nectarians." Gibbus has trouble digesting this fact and moodily slinks about the house. He bites into some silly and ultimately unsatisfying objects such as a stuffed gargoyle and a Stradivarius. He tries to startle his grandfather and the gardener but fails to sufficiently scare them. He then sits "under his favorite thinking tree next door," where he nods off until a three-toothed slobbery thing rudely awakens him. It is toddler Mandy—"Mandibles"—who chews on everything, the younger sister of non-vampire boy Moe who has just moved in next door. While Gibbus is first impressed with her, Moe claims with disgust, "Biting's for babies." Suddenly Gibb is more interested in literally hanging out with Moe and happy to be sinking his fangs into a "toothsome" apple. Muir works in quite a few lessons: Biting others is not okay, be open to other points of view and make a friend who is a bit different. And it all goes down well, coupled with Corace's deft acrylic, watercolor and pen-and-ink images of Gibbus' humorous process of figuring things out.

Get ready for many year-round requests for this "fangtastic" title. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews