September 15, 2020
The vampires of Blinsh may be the most hopeful monsters in all of literature. Pretty much everyone in Blinsh, Pinksylvania, eats doughnuts, including the creatures of the night. This is true even though they come in flavors like "boiled turnip and sauerkraut." And yet, Pinkwater notes, "the Blinshites keep buying them and eating them, hoping it will be better this time. It never is." Nevertheless, the vampires in this picture book are cheerful in general, possibly because they can float in the air, although, as the text points out: "Numerous normal-type Pinksylvanians have learned to do this for short periods, perhaps from vampire neighbors?" This is one of the more eventful passages in the book. If there's a plot, it may escape the average reader. The book is mostly a travel guide to Blinsh and its environs, but the pages are utterly packed with detail. It might not be possible to get all of the in-jokes. A map of the town shows "Wallywood Amusement Park," which could be a reference to a cartoonist, the filmmaking capitol of the United States, or even Dollywood (probably not Dollywood). If there is a protagonist, it's Mr. Papooshnik, who bears a resemblance to the White, Jewish author of the book; the town as a whole is quite diverse. Fans of cult artists may be pleased that the pictures look, faintly, like the gigantic, cartoonish sculptures of Red Grooms. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.7% of actual size.) By the last page, Blinsh feels like the real happiest place on Earth. (Picture book. 5-10)
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September 18, 2020
Gr 2-4-Disingenuously promoting the message that vampires aren't really so bad, this visit to Blinsh, Pinksylvania (village motto: "I'll bring the donuts") profiles both day and night life in a small town where roughly equal numbers of undead and living cohabit in (supposed) amity. Along with meeting several local residents-notably not-yet-dead Jonas Papooshnik who, in Renier's populous town scenes, bears a remarkable resemblance to the author-readers are invited to sample some of the creatively flavored donuts for which the town is renowned (boiled turnip and sauerkraut, anyone?), to participate in the Halloween festivities. These are, unsurprisingly, an annual highlight, and readers even take day (i.e., night) trips to the more bustling burgs of Blorsh and Farshningle. The illustrations open with a detailed aerial map of the town, then go on to depict citizens of diverse garb and skin color flitting about, engaged in familiar nightly activities in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings. Sharper viewers noticing that the expressions on many faces are often angry, dismayed, or fearful may find the narrative's bubbly tone rather suspect...but will likely be up for repeat visits despite the jocund valediction: "Hey, take your teeth off my neck!" VERDICT Younger readers, undead or otherwise, with a taste for armchair travel will definitely bite.-John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 26, 2020
Welcome to Blinsh, in the nation of Pinksylvania. It’s a village where 51% of the population are vampires, “and every family has a least one.” People get bitten on a regular basis—such as the Pinkwater double and nominal protagonist Mr. Papooshnik—but that doesn’t seem to bother the residents nearly as much as the town’s odd gift for producing “the worst-tasting doughnuts anywhere on earth.” Ultimately, the bustling, convivial Blinsh, with its all-vampire fire department, is an object lesson in functioning community—and in this case, “the true friendship and tolerance between normal folk and the undead.” Pictures by Renier (the Unsinkable Walker Bean series), mostly set at night, are packed full of visual jokes and flying bats against spooky, luridly hued skies of blood red, Halloween orange, and Frankenstein green; the underground comics vibe is a good match for Pinkwater’s (Adventures of a Dwergish Girl) off-the-cuff, delightfully woolly narration. Come for the ghoulishness, stay for the literary equivalent of sitting between two expertly silly grown-ups as they devote their considerable talents to making readers giggle. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.
January 1, 2021
Pinkwater and Renier present an absurd and delightfully creepy mock anthropological study of the village of Blinsh, where "not every Blinsher, or Blinshite, if you prefer, is a vampire, but 51 percent of them are, and every family has at least one." The omniscient narrator is humorously sympathetic to vampires, generally overlooking the havoc depicted throughout the illustrations, even going so far as to say that a bite from a vampire could be interpreted as, "Hello, let's be friends." Pinkwater's text is dry and witty, often describing familiar and mundane aspects of town life with great interest. This enthusiasm almost always contains a macabre undertone that skillfully walks the line between funny and frightening. Renier's ink and gouache illustrations feature skillful linework, dynamic layouts, and expressive evening scenes draped in rich hues. A significant portion of the storytelling and world-building is achieved through the visuals alone; in particular, the huge cast of recurring characters, strong sense of physical space (see front endpapers for a detailed map of an idyllic Blinsh), and large variety of races, skin tones, body sizes, ages, and abilities depicted within the community create countless points of access and interest for readers. A brief side trip to the similarly chaotic cities of Blorsh and Farshningle concludes the narration of the book; however, looking very closely, the back endpapers feature an ominous map of Blinsh in disarray, leaving readers to speculate on the fate of the town's living and undead residents.
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2021
Pinkwater and Renier present an absurd and delightfully creepy mock anthropological study of the village of Blinsh, where "not every Blinsher, or Blinshite, if you prefer, is a vampire, but 51 percent of them are, and every family has at least one." The omniscient narrator is humorously sympathetic to vampires, generally overlooking the havoc depicted throughout the illustrations, even going so far as to say that a bite from a vampire could be interpreted as, "Hello, let's be friends." Pinkwater's text is dry and witty, often describing familiar and mundane aspects of town life with great interest. This enthusiasm almost always contains a macabre undertone that skillfully walks the line between funny and frightening. Renier's ink and gouache illustrations feature skillful linework, dynamic layouts, and expressive evening scenes draped in rich hues. A significant portion of the storytelling and world-building is achieved through the visuals alone; in particular, the huge cast of recurring characters, strong sense of physical space (see front endpapers for a detailed map of an idyllic Blinsh), and large variety of races, skin tones, body sizes, ages, and abilities depicted within the community create countless points of access and interest for readers. A brief side trip to the similarly chaotic cities of Blorsh and Farshningle concludes the narration of the book; however, looking very closely, the back endpapers feature an ominous map of Blinsh in disarray, leaving readers to speculate on the fate of the town's living and undead residents. Patrick Gall
(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)