My FANGtastically Evil Vampire Pet 03 – Cats in the Crater

Mo O'Hara's Cats in the Crater is the third My FANGtastically Evil Vampire Pet book, a silly summer-camp story for 7 year olds with a flying volcano in it.

What happens

Mark is at Evil Scientist Summer Camp, and he has a secret. His vampire kitten Fang is hiding in his tent. Pets are totally banned.

When the counsellors do a surprise tent search, Fang only escapes by hanging off the tent roof like a little bat. (Mark's tentmate Igor threw her up there, and even he looks surprised.)

Then the sky goes dark. A whole island, volcano and all, floats over the camp and lands in the lake!

It belongs to Madame Mako, a total legend among evil scientists. She's the camp's special guest for the week. And it turns out she's Geeky Girl's grandma!

Suddenly everyone is bowing to Geeky Girl. Mark just wants to win Evil Emperor of the Week (and maybe drive the volcano island one day). But Madame Mako keeps calling him a henchman. And her pet Komodo dragon, Lucky, really doesn't like Fang.

It's very, very silly in the best way. Mark tells it like he's chatting to you, and Igor only ever says "Urgh", so Mark translates for him. There's a Tahitian dance lesson that nobody can do, an evil lair contest (a lair on the back of a giant elephant, anyone?) and a spy mission with a budgie wearing a head camera.

There's a sweet side too. Geeky Girl has never met her grandma properly, and all the attention makes her miserable. She isn't sure she wants to be evil at all. Mark and Igor look out for her (and her budgie Boris), even when it means a canoe trip across the lake in the dark.

Who doesn't want a grandma with a flying volcano? If your reader likes baddies who are mostly just very funny, this series is perfect.

What to read next

If they'd like to go back to Mark's first day at camp, the first Vampire Pet book is where he smuggles Fang in past his mum in a backpack.