A vampiric child longs to overcome her fear of the dark in Argentinian author Betina Gonzáles's gently creepy first picture book, Vampire Girl Conquers the Night, lavishly illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson (The Book That Kibo Wrote) and translated from the Spanish by Antonio Gonzales Cerna.
Pale, pointy-eared Vampire Girl "dreams of conquering the Night." The girl "calls out to her," a figure with a crescent-moon head, elongated fingers, and a gown with skirts that teem with nocturnal animals. "But the Night is everywhere," as demonstrated by a dog's bark turning into a segmented, multilegged Night creature. Vampire Girl knows vanquishing the Night would give her power over her fear of the dark and turns to a host of ghoulish monsters (including Disaster Girl and Legendary Vampire) for advice. Vampire Girl, they say, can only become one of them if she finds her Dark Night of the Soul, "the most terrible of nights" that happens "within oneself." Vampire Girl tunes into her worries and exhales a small black cloud. Releasing her fear shadow frees Vampire Girl to fly into the hands of the Night and soar contentedly with the other monsters in the Night's rippling skirts.
Johnson's illustrations of violet darkness and the sharp-eyed creatures who live in it have a strong folkloric influence, filled with details that ask readers to slow down and look closely. Gonzales balances a realistic childhood fear with a wild and wonderful magical world as she stealthily gives young readers a practical strategy for soothing their fears. Vampire Girl Conquers the Night should beguile budding young horror fans during spooky season or all year round. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Allen County Public Library