Best Vampire Stories: Vampires for Kids

Sure, we love our vampire stories and many of us love them even better when there is romance in them. But did you know there are some great books about vampires that kids can read? It is true- there are some of the funniest books I have ever read in the kids vampire novel sub-genre. When I first started noticing this, it was just a few titles like My Sister the Vampire by Sienna Mercer, which actually became a great YA series. The story is about a teenage girl who moves to a new town and makes friends with a girl who, though she dresses completely different from her is so alike they could be twins. And, of course, what she finds out is this girl is a vampire.

Another great YA series that features vampires is Peter and the Vampires by Darren Pillsbury. It has a lot of the adventure of the Harry Potter series with Peter being a young boy in third grade who goes to live with his crotchety old grandfather. Along the way he meets vampires, has to babysit a changeling that was traded for his sister and rescue townsfolk from a horrible monster that lives in the nearby lake. Fun and funny with lots of supernatural adventure to boot, any kid will love this great series of adventures.

For something a little more grownup, but still not out of the basic YA sphere, you might want to check out Anathema: Casual Enchantment Series by K.A. Tucker. Evangeline is a teen who was raised by loveless foster parents and once she is done high school is set adrift with few friends. She stumbles upon a cafe run by the amazing Sofie, who hires her as her assistant and soon has her flying to exotic locations and staying in luxurious rooms. When dreams of strange but alluring creatures leave her awakening breathless and with bite marks on her neck, the real drama begins. A battle between two opposing clans of vampires – with Evangeline caught in the middle. A real page turner, and I for one am breathlessly awaiting the sequel this summer.

So there you have it- three really different books that embrace the vampire subculture and yet write for that elusive YA audience. Of course, you don’t have to be a teenager to read and enjoy them, Harry Potter proved that once and for all. But the YA designation does mean the language is cleaned up a bit and no three page descriptions of sex for every chapter. I, for one, love the Ya fantasy novels and have found it encouraging that in the vampire sub-genre, we can find some great stories without the heavy duty sensuality.