Giracula by Caroline Watkins

Giracula Reviews

• 
  Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic)

  I thought this was a great little book to read with funny story. It may be aimed at children but I could definitely identify with Giracula, I do love children's books that rhyme they have such a great flow through them that makes the story a joy to read! I will definitely be looking out for more of this authors books.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Gemma

  A nice, fun book to read with children.
  
  My kids found it funny and it held their attention well.
  
  I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
• 
  Sarah

  Everything changes for a young giraffe whe he is bitten by vampire bats and turns into a vampire himself. Thus Giracula is made, but the thought of blood makes him woozy! Sweets and treats are what this vampire giraffe craves. It's his penchant for sweets that gets him into trouble though. Cherry pies, in particular, for the impression it gives with the pie filling dripping from his fangs.
  
  When the townspeople flee from him in terror, one brave, young girl befriends him. And together they are able to help the town see that they needn't be afraid, for it's only the sweets he's after. Working together they find a solution that works for everybody.
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  Overall I really enjoyed the lyrical, rhyming style of the book. But... the rhyme is a bit off. There were some lines in which they clearly tried to force what they had to say to fit with the rhyme and flow of the text, but it didn't always come off seamlessly. There's a few lines that are quite clunky and detract from the flow of the book.
  
  The illustrations are beautiful and the little giraffe adorable. I think this book would ideally suit children preschool to first grade. Great for the Halloween season, but would be a fun read for anytime of the year. Because, let's be real, Halloween is the best.
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  Many thanks to BookSirens and Caroline Watkins for sharing an electronic copy of this book with me. This is my honest review.
• 
  Rosh

  A really cute book, and not at all scary, this is something that would appeal to all children who are interested in funnily scary tales. There's no blood or gore in this book, so it would be quite wonderful for early readers.
  The illustrations are fabulous and would definitely appeal to those keen little eyes that look at the drawings in their books.
  Best of all, the book comes with a great lesson on how to solve problems constructively. A worthwhile investment.
  
  I received an advance review copy of the book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The above is my honest & unbiased opinion of the book.
  
  
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• 
  Marcie

  I loved the idea of this story. The giraffe on the cover with his cape was so cute!
  I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't.
  
  The book starts out with... a teacher reading... this book to the class? I'm really not sure, but there is a teacher and a class full of students on the first two pages and the giraffe is in a zoo with other animal friends.
  The story starts with a cute rhyme:
  "but what about animals that live at the zoo?
  could you ever imagine them scaring you, too?
  You know about ghosts, and goblins, and ghouls.
  Witches, and werewolves,
  and...gulp...dental tools."
  There is the only mention of anything referring to dental tools in the whole story.
  
  All of a sudden there is a herd of giraffes and bats are swarming them:
  "but instead, on the
  vampire bats' menu that night,
  were the longest, the strongest, the best necks in sight."
  The illustration looks like.... a happy bat maybe? Now, there is a vampire giraffe.
  
  I'm confused about the drones on the next page. The giraffe is flying around with a cape; there is one giraffe falling down, one drone with a cape, and one without. I think maybe the bats bit more than one giraffe, and maybe one lost its ability to fly because it lost its cape to a drone. I'm really not sure.
  
  Suddenly, he's crashed into a bakery and eating up all kinds of sweets. The bakery owners come in the next morning and see the mess and report the crime to the police. Later in the story, he comes back to the same bakery and binges some more.
  
  He eats a cherry pie and the townspeople who have gathered think he's covered in blood, so they run. All except one little girl. She bakes him pies so he won't have to steal from that bakery any longer.
  
  I guess now the town is safe from the bakery break-ins and things go back to normal.
  The end image is of the little girl trying to feed a carrot to Girracula.
  
  ***
  
  I had to read this a few times over to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
  
  I love Halloween and I love children's books, but I could not enjoy this one. It seems as though the author had a cute idea and fleshed it out as they went along.
  
  The rhymes are forced and it really doesn't make sense.
  
  It was very confusing.
  
  Thank you to BookSirens for this advance review copy. I received this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  BreeAnn (She Just Loves Books)

  What I Loved: The idea of a giraffe becoming a vampire, but loving sweets is adorable! I loved that he’s a bit confused, but is never scary for a child.
  
  How I Felt: Giracula is just a poor giraffe that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’s a bit sad that he can’t go back to just being a giraffe, and my daughter was sad about that. However, when he finds his new friend that can help him, my daughter was so excited and happy. It made her enjoy the book and want to read it again!
  
  The illustrations in this book are cute and well though out. The lanky giraffe made some of the illustrations all the more fun, with his long limbs and neck, the artwork could be a bit more exaggerated.
  
  To Read or Not To Read: This book is not scary at all, so it works well for any child. The writing is perfect for pre-k through middle elementary.
  
  What’s This Book About Anyway?
  Giracula was just a normal giraffe when a group of hungry bats bite him, turning him into a vampire giraffe. He flies off into the night and lands in front of a bakery. He’s confused, as he is taken over by an overwhelming urge for sweets! He breaks into the bakery and eats everything in sight. As he continues in this way, he is caught by the townspeople who run away in fear. All except one little girl who knows just how to make things right.
  
  I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
  All of my reviews can be found at:
  https://shejustlovesbooks.com/
  
• 
  Michele Benchouk

  We loved the art in this book. However, while the art is appropriate for the preschool set, the story is more fitting for a few grades higher. The author attempts to avoid some of this by skipping over how the young giraffe becomes Giracula, but even I got lost (not to mention the young ones I was reading to). It is also unclear as to why Giracula is drawn to pies -- and the book doesn't explain it because that would require mentioning vampires and blood. The meter doesn't work well, and we often lost that sing-song pace that kids like so much in their stories. Keep the art but make some tweaks to the story.
  
  We received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions above are our own.
• 
  Leigh

  Giracula is a charming and beautifully illustrated storybook for children, telling the tale of a zoo giraffe who gets bitten by a vampire bat. Fortunately, he develops a thirst for cakes and sweets rather than the traditional vampire fare, so remains in the ‘suitable for small children’ category. The rhyming is a little iffy here and there, but it doesn’t detract from the story, and the drawings of the confused-looking giraffe with his little fangs and vampire cape are adorable.
  
  I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Jennifer Olivas

  I thought that Giracula was a charming little book. It has a Giraffe who was bitten by bats and is turned into a vampire, but he doesn't want to drink blood. He just wants to eat sweets. This gets him in a bit of trouble, but with the help of a sweet little girl, they figure out how to keep him well behaved and happy when she volunteers to bake him cherry pies. My five year old grandson and I loved this book. It was fun and has great illustrations.
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Karen (kmo.reads)

  My 10 year old read this book to me. She enjoyed it and thought it was a cute story.
  
  I thought the book had cute illustrations and a good story line, but I struggled with the rhyming. It didn’t always match and just seemed a little off to me. We had to go back and re-read several parts that didn’t seem to flow.
  
  Thank you to the author/BookSirens for a free copy of this book. I read it voluntarily and my opinions are my own.
• 
  Kira

  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
  The art was cute and aimed for younger set, the story though was a mismatch. We get "gory mess" from the bats but huge scene skips of how that giraffe actual becomes Giracula. Then to top that confusing transition, the giraffe is addicted to sweets. No reasons behind why the bats want gory bloody mess and the sweet addiction.
  
  
• 
  Elaine Ciarnau

  This is an adorable book, written in rhyme. A giraffe is turned into a Giracula after being bitten by bats. He has a sweet tooth and breaks into a bakery devouring the treats while breaking everything. The towns folk are afraid of him, but a little girl finds a way to stop the chaos.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  N.A. Wolf

  I thought the story was cute but my daughter didn't like it. She said she didn't like the sound of it I'm not sure what she meant but I think she means the flow of the story there was a couple parts where is it seems like there was a page missing or something it didn't flow right.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
• 
  Alexia McCabe

  Giracula is incredibly fun to read, and it's a very silly and enjoyable book. My son loves giraffes, and I thought this would be a perfect bedtime story for him. I was absolutely right. He enjoyed it just as much as I did.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Brianna Johnson

  So since this is a children's book I decided to read it to my kids. We really enjoyed this book. It was cute and the play on words was adorable. My 7 year old loved the rhyming, and 10 year old loved the idea of a Giracula needing sweets. All around a good kids story.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Charity Bartley Howard

  This is a cute story with good illustrations that I recommend. This giraffe becomes a vampire but instead of being a typical vampire giracula enjoys sweet treats. He breaks into a bakery to take want he wants and learns it isn't nice. The rhymes are just OK in this book, but it doesn't take away too much from the story. Little ones still enjoy the story and find it fun.
• 
  Cassandra

  I received an advanced reader copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
  I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute and fun little story. Children will love this story. A quick read that will make bedtime fun!
• 
  Catriona Lovett

  A Sweet Tale - I Mean Tooth
  
  This would be a fun Halloween book for kids. The verse is very well-written and fun, and the illustrations are funny and adorable!
  
  I'm supposed to say that I received an advance review copy for free. However, I wouldn't leave a review involuntarily!
• 
  Lesley

  This is a wonderful, whimsical book with cute illustrations. It's a fun story with nice rhyming. There's humor in there as well.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Dawn

  I love books that rhyme but this book ws just okay. Liked the pictures though!
• 
  Elaine Walters

  Such a great story for little ones! Love!
• 
  Brittany

  My daughter loved this one alot. Parts of it were a mouthful to read aloud.
• 
  RaChelle Holmberg

  WHAT AN ADORABLE BOOK! I received a copy from an ARC group that I belong to, and what a darling choice. Perfect for people of all ages, even grown up kids like myself.
• 
  Kim

  A giraffe bitten by a bat turns into Giracula. He has a sweet tooth and breaks into a bakery twice. Cute rhyming story for Halloween.
• 
  Andréa

  Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.