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"Garlic & the Vampire"

Written and Illustrated by Bree Paulsen

        
Image Source: Goodreads

"Garlic and the Vampire" is a cozy story about an anxious little Garlic that works in a witches garden with a variety of other vegetable characters. Garlic is often worried that she has upset those around her and worries about everything. One day they see that there is smoke coming from the chimney of the abandoned mansion and the witch tells them it is possible that the vampire that previously lived there is back. After panic on everyone's part, Garlic is volunteered for the job (for obvious reasons). This is such a sweet story to show that often times were worry and have anxiety over something that was perfectly fine to begin with.
        The images work well with the text in showing the sarcastic responses that Garlic gets when she begins to worry aloud. The images also do a great job of showing how the characters are feeling, while the text does not explicitly say. Paulsen does an excellent job of giving the illustrations a cottage core, cozy type of feeling that enhances the illustrations of the garden, forest and inside the castle. Paulsen does an excellent job capturing the facial expressions of her characters throughout the illustrations.
        Children will be able to follow the plot, even if they do not have any familiarity with vampire lore. The witch does explain all the different items she gives Garlic for her to be able to be guarded against the vampire. There is a second book that continues Garlic's story: "Garlic and the Witch".


Paulsen, Bree. Garlic & the Vampire. Illustrated by Bree Paulsen. Quill Tree Books, 2021. 151 pages. TR. $22.99, ISBN 97-0-06-299509-4.
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