Ham Helsing - Review

Author: Rich Moyer

Genre: Middle Grade / Horror

Format: Hardback

Pages: 240

I'm a sucker for these kinds of re-tellings with an animal cast. Maybe it's my 90's heart, but they are always an instant grab at the library. This one caught my because my Mim's favorite animals are pigs, and my first thought was this would give her a chuckle. My second was how adorable was this going to be. Vampires are my favorite of the creature feature stories. So I was super excited for this one.

It did not disappoint at all.

Personally, I thought this was a take on the Van Helsing story. It's definitely told for younger readers, but fun for older readers as well. I found myself giggling at parts throughout the story. Especially at the start when you're being introduced to the Van Helsing family. It's a light-hearted take on the Vampire Hunter role, and has a couple of great messages through the story about bravery and being a hero. I love that Ham doesn't go into the fight alone, there's teamwork through the book as well. 

I also really liked the vampires aren't the only creature in the book we get some other classics as well. I think Lobos was probably my favorite. He was such a good boy!

The story itself moves pretty quickly but was easy to keep up with. I was a little thrown by one of the characters until the very end. What I thought was a useless side quest of sorts turned out to be a really cool open ending. So I'm hoping to see a Book Two is announced because this is a series I'd keep up with. The story was fun, Ham is a delight, and I love the idea of kids being introduced to classic monsters this way.

The artwork through the book is also super fun. Each page is bright and full of details about the world Ham lives in. There is a modern sort of twist to the story as well despite everyone being dressed like it's the "olden days". So definitely as moments for the younger readers to attach to. The bright panels keep the story from getting too scary, but also Rich does a great job of foreshadowing in places as well. Which keeps your eyes moving across the panels for all the small details.

In the end, this is a super adorable book and a great start to my spooky season reading!

HAPPY READING!!