Read Crime Biters 4 – Fangs for Everything free for 7 days. £7.99/month after - less than a paperback.
Tommy Greenwald's Fangs for Everything is a CrimeBiters story for 8 year olds about a boy who's starting to worry his vampire dog might just be a dog.
Jimmy Bishop has always been sure his dog Abby has special powers. She's the reason he started the CrimeBiters club with his friends. Lately, though, she hasn't been in a very fang-y mood. She'd mostly rather have a nap.
And everyone else is busy. Irwin can only talk about his birthday party, where a man is bringing fourteen different kinds of animal. Baxter has just found out his big brother is being sent overseas with the army. Daisy Flowers, who always said cheerleading was ridiculous, is now a cheerleader.
Jimmy is NOT happy about that. Mostly because she cheers very loudly for Chad Knight, basketball star.
When a rude man in a sports car pushes past Jimmy and Abby just snoozes, Jimmy starts to wonder. Is he too old to believe in a vampire dog? So he writes to his favourite author, the man behind his beloved vampire books, to ask how you can tell if someone's a vampire. His big sister thinks it's hilarious.
It's a really funny read. Jimmy tells it with little "FACT" boxes and character profiles dropped in between the chapters. (One of his FACTS is that English accents make people sound really smart.) Young readers will love spotting themselves in those.
Under the jokes there's something quite grown-up going on. Jimmy and Irwin both have a crush on Daisy, and she finally tells them how annoying that is and that they need to grow up. Jimmy gets jealous and says something mean, then has to say sorry.
Baxter's worry about his brother is handled gently. When Bennett turns up in uniform, it makes all their squabbles feel a bit small.
If you've got a reader who's feeling a bit too old for something they still secretly love, this one's for them. Growing up is a lot to deal with, and Jimmy is very relatable!
If they want to see how Jimmy and Abby met, My Dog is Better than Your Dog is where Jimmy's dad finally agrees to a trip to the animal shelter.
A library hand-picked by an English teacher, delivered through a calm, ad-free app. If your child already loves reading, we keep up.
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