I knew I was going to like this the moment I saw the cover, and happily, that same wonderful art carries all the way through the book. It’s a visual treat from start to finish.

What really charmed me, though, was the relationship between the grandkids and their grandfather. Watching it develop—especially given how genuinely frightened he is of them at the beginning—was both funny and sweet in the best way.

This isn’t scary, not really. It has more of that playful, spooky-adjacent vibe you get from The Addams Family or The Munsters—where you know these characters are supposed to be a little “off,” maybe even the “baddies,” but it’s all wrapped in humor and warmth instead of fear.

It’s a charming, slightly quirky story that stands out just enough from your typical children’s book to feel special.

Five stars for the charm, the heart, and that delightfully eerie-but-cozy atmosphere.

Memento Monstrum: Bedtime Tales with Grandpa Dracula by Jochen Till is a wonderfully playful and imaginative collection of monster-themed bedtime stories. Framed as Count Dracula’s own memoirs (with a humorous warning from Van Helsing), the book sets a fun, slightly mischievous tone right from the start.

I really enjoyed the cosy, humorous storytelling and the way classic monsters are reimagined as surprisingly friendly and relatable characters. It has a light, bedtime-story feel with just the right balance of spooky and silly, making it perfect for younger readers or anyone who enjoys gentle monster tales.

In this translated novel, we get to spend time with Dracula (who is a bat)as he is taking care of his three grand-children for a weekend. While playing in the library, they stumble across a photo album, leading to Grandpa Drac telling stories of his younger life and monster friends (and enemies). Each monster gets its own chapter, making this perfect for bedtime stories. The artwork is fantastic and helps break up the text quite well. Sometimes the paragraphs seemed a little long or crowded, but I believe that may be due to differences between the German edition and English. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommended it to a parent of one of my students (he got it for Christmas and absolutely loved it).
I would recommend this for ages 5-10 with a grown-up to help read.

Spending time under your grandfather's care can be exhausting, unless he surprises you by turning out to be Dracula.

Living alone with your partner is very relaxing, unless you're Count Dracula himself and have several grandchildren.

Dracula lives peacefully in his house, that is, until his daughter arrives to take her mother for a spa day. However, she doesn't come alone; three small children are left in the care of the now-grandfather, and to be honest, he doesn't know how to handle them or compete with technology. Vlad gets the idea to tell them stories from an old album containing photographs of other creatures and explain the intensity of his rivalry with Van Helsing.

It's fun to see the dynamic between the characters, especially Dracula as he tries to understand his grandchildren a little better. The story is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that make the reading more enjoyable and conveys a valuable message that both adults and children should consider.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC read copy.

Thank you Arctis Books for this arc.

I think the fact that I finished this book and immediately went to look and see what else I could read by Till and Rauers should say it all. I cheered when I saw that there are two more books in this series. I was sad when I saw that Vols 2 and 3 are only available in the original German language editions. I need to start learning German.

This is a delightful book for grandparents (and, okay, parents) to read to their own little monsters. Poor Grandpa Vlad is being left with his three grandchildren while his wife, his daughter, and her husband are all off doing other things. At first Grandpa is terrified of being the one in charge – which makes me wonder why grandma never put him in charge of their daughter. Strict instructions have been left and alarm clocks set so that the grandchildren will be in their coffins before the sun comes up. But meanwhile the kids are a little bored until Grandpa starts telling them a story.

From cheering a ballet dancing Yeti, to finding out what vampire blood will do to a fish, to learning which spider leg to shake when meeting one for the first time, to discovering how Vlad became a secret agent, to seeing who sat in on a jam session in Germany with The Beatles, all while Vlad ducks and dodges Van Helsing – the singularly inept zombie monster hunter – Grandpa astounds his little grandmonsters. He also shows them that being kind, understanding, supporting, and forgiving are good things. Every little monster needs to know that. The illustrations scattered through the story are utterly adorable.

Adults like me can zip through the book in a matter of hours while adults reading to children or children reading on their own can pace themselves at a story each evening. Don’t worry, the alarms work and everyone is well protected before evening arrives, it’s lovely to watch Grandpa and his grandchildren bond (Grandpa’s cool!), and in the end, Grandpa realizes what a modern cell/mobile phone can accomplish. B+

Memento Monstrum: Bedtime Tales with Grandpa Dracula is an utterly charming children’s book that reframes classic monster lore through cozy, slightly spooky bedtime stories. When Count Dracula is tasked with babysitting his grandchildren, he entertains them by recounting tales from his long (and unusual) life.

What makes this book shine is its joyful embrace of the weird. Dracula and his family being literal bats is both funny and affirming, and the stories are filled with familiar monsters reimagined in kid-friendly, delightfully unexpected ways. There’s a Yeti who dreams of becoming a ballerina, and a hilariously incompetent Van Helsing who’s actually a zombie. These playful twists make the book feel fresh, inclusive, and wonderfully imaginative.

It’s a perfect read for children who love the strange and unusual—and a gentle reminder that being “weird” is something to celebrate, not outgrow. Endearing, funny, and just spooky enough, this is a bedtime book with a lot of heart.

I had so much fun reading this book! It was an adorable monster book with Grandpa Dracula as a bat spending time with his three grandchildren.

Dracula's wife and daughter are going on a weekend get-away and are leaving Dracula in charge of the grandkids. Dracula acts spry at his 589 year age, but he's having just a little bit of trouble keeping up with the youngsters. When they decide to build a fort of books, they uncover a photo album of Grandpa Dracula and some of his friends from his life .

We get to hear stories about Yeti, Van Helsing (not really a friend), Bubba the fishman, and others. This is one of the most fun and easy to reach childrens'/ middle-grade reads I have picked up in quite a long time. I plan to look for the other two once they are translated into English, it seems the original version was German and I thought the the story received in the English addition was clear and enjoyable.

This book was such a blast. I was a little bummed at first that it was called a graphic novel when it’s really more like an illustrated chapter book—but honestly, I ended up loving it. The illustrations are super fun and really add to the vibe.

The stories Dracula tells his grandkids are awesome. As an adult, it was cool to see some of the creatures I grew up hearing about in a totally new light. I’m already looking forward to reading this with my kids when they’re a bit older—it’s going to be so fun to share it with them.

I received this book from NetGalley and Arctis Books to read and give an honest review.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to request it. Two hundred pages of a children’s book? Did I actually want to read that? But I decided to go for it… and I am so happy I did.

I’m always looking for great children’s horror-adjacent books, but they’re few and far between, and this is one of the good ones! I had such a fun time reading it as an adult, and the moment I finished, I was already hunting down a physical copy for my son. My little guy is only 3, so it might not hold his attention quite yet since it doesn’t have a ton of pictures, but I know it’s going to be such a fun experience to read together when we do. This instantly became one of my new favorite children’s stories.

The story is told by Count Dracula, who ends up babysitting his grandchildren while his daughter takes his wife on a spa getaway. He’s instantly panicked about how he’ll handle being on his own with them, but while in the library, they find an old photo album. From there, the story unfolds into these fun little tales as Dracula shares hilarious and heartwarming stories from his past.

This book is perfect for kids, parents, horror lovers… honestly, everyone. I would recommend it over and over again. I’m so excited for my physical copy to arrive because I already know this will be a reread for me.

On top of Jochen Till’s fantastic storytelling, Wiebke Rauers’ artwork is absolutely adorable and beautiful. It fits the tone perfectly and brings so much charm to the story.

I absolutely adored everything about this book. I can’t say it enough…go grab a copy for your child’s shelf, your horror collection, or just for yourself. Doesn’t matter who you are, you’ll love it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
10 stars from me. I adored it, maybe even more as an adult because of all the little Easter eggs hidden throughout. This was such a refreshing, fun, and cozy read, and I cannot wait to share it with my kiddo!

OMG the best one ever! Hilarious and entertaining, loved it! I have no clue who the target audience for this one is, though. Definitely not very young children, but perfect for middle grade, for tweens, teens, and adults, too.

I was trying to figure out who the intended audience is because I picked this because of the adorable cover. However, while the stories and pictures were really cute and fun, I also enjoyed it as an adult, because of the structure and some of the stories. The ending is really satisfying and sweet, too. I would highly recommend this for younger readers and for parents who enjoy reading with their kids.

This is a surprisingly endearing and funny collection of bedtime stories, I wish I could have read this as a kid!

We follow Grandpa Vlad Dracula, a vampire who is going to be babysitting his three vampire grandkids. They're uncontrollably chaotic, until they discover a photo album filled with photos of Grandpa's past. Grandpa proceeds to tell his grandkids about each of his old monster friends, and the adventures they experienced together.

This book has so much character! It features facts about actual history, references to classic literature, and absolutely gorgeous illustrations throughout. Each of the thrilling tales (with happy endings!) teaches kids about change, about misfortune, and about finding beauty in unexpected ways.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Arctis Books for providing the ARC!

I was initially attracted to the adorable cover illustration,but the inside story turned out to be a delight! Grampa Dracula ( in bat form) entertains the kiddos ( which he has never had to do before) by spinning some tales for them. The writing is fun,and the illustrations are *chef's kiss* gorgeous. Recommended!

Thank you to Arctis Books, the author and NetGalley for a DRC in return for an honest review

I absolutely loved reading this book - the story is original and amusing & the illustrations by Wiebke Rauers are perfection. Jochen Till has created a unique version of Dracula for children - suitable for ages 8+. The book has count Dracula, in bat form, regaling his vampire bat Grandchildren with bedtime stories of his numerous adventures, There is a Yeti, a Werewolf, an Invisible Man dressed as a Mummy, a Zombified Van Helsing...and even The Beatles make an appearance!

Memento Monstrum: Bedtime Tales with Grandpa Dracula is the first in a 3 book series by Jochen Till. Originally published in German and translated into English by Rachel Ward. Unfortunately the other 2 books have not yet been translated - I hope they will be one day, as I would really like to hear more of Grandpa Dracula's adventures!

A lovely little touch I appreciated was the way that the vampire bat family all said 'Good day' to one another instead of 'Goodnight' en route to their coffins!

#MementoMonstrum #NetGalley

An adorably mischievous journey into the life of Dracula. The artwork is so beautiful. I wish there were more drawn scenes included. I think perhaps the use of “stupid” and “dumb” is a bit demeaning for a children’s book, maybe lost in translation and the editor could utilize a few less negative words during the kids joking with one another parts. Otherwise, it was a delight!

This is a wonderful middle grade read, it was pretty fun, and relaxing.
We are listening to Dracula now telling stories to his grandchildren about the friends he's made throughout his life, beginning with Mrs Yeti, and endind with Archibald.
I definitely recommend it for young readers, and the illustrations were so fun!
10/10

The artwork in this is absolutely STUNNING and I think this would make a beautiful little cartoon short? I loved this book so much and it made me very nostalgic for the times with my own parent and grandparents looking through old pictures. My youngest loved the stories and the pictures but may have been a little young to get the significance but I think this is a beautiful book to share between a parent/grandparent and a small child as they can both each take something slightly different from it. It’s such a beautiful book

A wonderful book that catches the readers of any age and takes them along on a visit to a different kind of neighborhood. We ared it in reading circle with different age and reading skills and everyone of them loved it.

A thrilling and lovely gothic book, full of cute vampire babies and a vampire grandpa who is left to take care of the younger ones. One by one the grandchildren learn about the thrilling life of their grandfather and of the friends he had during his youth. Among these friends we encounter some non human characters like a yeti, werewolf, and arachnid and even the famous Van Helsing. The illustrations were so funny and full of details only adding more value to the entire story.

Memento Monstrum by Jochen Till is the cutest book I have read in a very long time. I loved the art and I really would love the own some of the art. I think the little ones in my family would absolutely love this book and I will probably buying this for them for their birthdays

Thank you Netgalley and Arctis Books for letting read and review this wonderful book.

this was a really cute children's book and will work perfectly for those that loved Monsters. The art was really cute and I enjoyed reading this.

This is an adorable children's book that paints the standard monsters in a friendly and lovable light. The story is told by Dracula (drawn as a fluffy cute bat) who is entertaining his grandchildren with stories from his very long and and eventful life. The story encourages children to question their assumptions and stereotypes and poses the question as to what makes a monster. "Somehow, there's a little monster inside each of us..."

An enjoyable story aimed at young children who are ready for very short chapter style books.

five stars.

What an absolute delight of a Book especially if you love anything Gothic & Tales of Mythical Creatures such as Vampire's , Werewolves , Invisible Men dressed as Mummy's, Van Helsing & others . It is the most delightful way to bring all these amazing Fictional characters to the attention of young children in the least scary of ways , so I will be highly recommending this amazing Book to all my friends as the best gift they can buy & read to their grandchildren .#FB, #Instagram, #GoodReads,# Netgalley, #Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/c566f42be23a0e25d120e78a3454e2d427c4beee" width="80" height="80" alt="50 Book Reviews" title="50 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

What an absolutely adorable book! Dracula entertains his grandchildren with tales of his past, encounters he has had, over his long life, with other monsters. A quirky writing style that bounces between the tale and the children interrupting for clarification or more details, in the exact way children do. The relationship between Dracula and his grandchildren was wholesome and pure.

The illustrations were a delight! Beautifully drawn and colored the pictures enhance the reading and each tale. Some of the scenes had me laughing (the selfies) and the illustrations were spot on and only served to increase the laughter.

My daughter (8) has asked that we read it again tonight! If it convinces my child to read, I'm sold!

I had the pleasure of receiving this book in print/eARC, thank you SO much to Arctis Books for sending me a copy for an honest review.

Absolutely gorgeous, quirky and definitely one for those of us who refuse to grow up.

The illustrations are beautiful and the story is a delight, there's a wonderful sense of humour throughout.

Memento Monstrum is a terrifically charming story suitable for children of all ages. Cute, funny, and thoroughly heartwarming, it more than delivers on the promise of its concept and cover art.

I would have absolutely adored this book when I was a little kid whose heart held equal space for cuteness and all things spooky. As an adult whose tastes in children's fiction have held steady throughout the decades, I found it utterly delightful--and got, perhaps, more of the references than I would have as a little kid. The best children's books often contain a few morsels aimed at keeping adults from getting bored while reading out loud; here one may find nods to the iconic Universal horror films, ballet legends, classic literature, spy thrillers, and music ranging from The Beatles to 21st-century East Asian pop. For all that, Memento Monstrum never loses sight of its primary audience, and I think that plenty of kids would find it a hilariously satisfying read.

Highly recommended for all who seek something adorable and witty to gift or read to the children in their lives.

I received a free e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am in love with this book. This warm and fun book is a "memoir" of Vlad Dracula. This book is the memoir of Vlad Dracula who is now 600 years old and must watch his 3 grandchildren for the weekend while his wife and daughter go to Paris for a spa and shopping weekend. In the illustrations, Vlad and his grandchildren are drawn as cute furry vampire bats instead of the threatening vampire we think of at Halloween time.

The grandkids are fun. The oldest is a boy in his early teens who is always on his phone or playing video games. The middle child thrives on arguing with her brother. And the youngest is smart and spunky and asks lots of questions just like any 5 year old would. Very relatable to any home with multiple children.

Vlad’s grandchildren find an old photo album and ask him about some of the pictures inside and he in turn tells him stories about his life, like most grandpas do, right? His stories include things like, the time he fell in love with a Yeti, how his childhood pet fish came to fall in love with a huge spider, what kind of clandestine work he did with a mummy, and a story about how he influenced one of the most famous bands in history (I won’t tell you who it is but it rhymes with needle"..

And one of the things I found fun and innovative about the story is that Van Helsing from the Dracula book is in this story but Van Helsing in this is a little crazed to kill Vlad but can’t ever achieve his goal. It reminded me of the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons or Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny. Van Helsing is inept and Vlad always outsmarts him. Vlad is more of the good guy and Van Helsing the fanatic.

There are some affirming messages planted in here too like not assuming things about groups of people because of stereotypes. So not all vampires are bad and we shouldn’t be scared of them just because that is the way they are portrayed in film and movies. Or that your size doesn’t determine your skill. In the book the Yeti is female and she wants to be a ballerina and she tries out for the Ballet in Paris and the director says she is the best ballerina she has but they want to shave all her fur and put her in girdles to make her conform to a ballerina expectation.

I would say this book is for ages 8 and up. It has pictures but not on every page but its more advanced than an early chapter book. It’s a good one for kids to read with their parents. And its great because there is a lot of references that parents will get that will simply go over kids heads like Van helsing and the rock band. So there are multiple layers to it. Just like great kids movies that can entertain both kids and adults like Aladinn.

My review will be broadcast via my podcast "The Perks of Being a Book Lover" in August.

A great story for young confident readers. What happens when Grandpa Dracula has to look after his grandchildren? Well, he has a wealth of stories about his encounters with other 'monsters' over the last 400 years, but mainly about his ongoing battles with the vampire hunter Van Helsing. What a fantastic story, it introduces this type of book to young readers, without being scary and brings a humour to the characters that will make them want to keep on reading.

A rich collection of spooky-sweet fairy tales, packed with mysterious—but lovable—creatures in fantastic situations.

This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters are amazing and the story flows so well. Really cannot recommend this one enough!!

This was such a fun read, and the illustrations were so beautifully done. I loved how each story, was done as an experience from the Father's past. It was interesting to hear his children's reaction. I think that this book, would make a unique read for children who love something different.

5 stars - I loved it!

This was a wonderful children’s book! I picked this up because of the beautiful cover and artwork but the story didn’t disappoint either. This is basically a memoir of a few of Count Dracula’s adventures around the world with various creatures. He is telling them to his three grandchildren, who are enraptured by his tales. I love the fact that Dracula is an old man with grandkids and everything.

Everything about this story was just so adorable and captivating! I now want more stories about Dracula’s adventures. I am sure this is going to be a hit with kids, especially if they like bats or monsters.

Take a stroll through memory lane with none other than Dracula himself! Read his tales about yetis, lake monsters, invisible men, werewolves, and the dreadful Van Helsing.
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Such a cute book! I enjoyed the characters, artwork, and the story telling so much — it even had some great humor mixed in. This would be a great book for young readers who are really interested in monsters. It's also a quick read for more advanced readers!
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Thank you to NetGalley and Arctis Books for the ARC.

WoW! What an amazing book! Awesome illustrations! I loved all the characters and how well they are drawn. The story follows Vampire Grandkids, Beenie, Vira and Rhesus, as they come to stay with their Grandfather Vlad as their Mom and Grandmother go off to the spa for the weekend. Grandfather Vlad isn't sure he will be able to take care of kids but is forced to do so. The Grandkids find their way to the library and it is there, they stumble across an old photo album and ask their Grandfather to tell them stories about the photos. I loved all of the stories Vlad told! No spoilers but I highly recommend this book to kids of all ages! Thanks to #netgalley for an advanced reader copy! This book made it to my 2021 Favorites List!

Lately I'm rediscovering my love for children books, especially those with beautiful illustrations and spooky aesthetics. Sometimes, this kind of books can talk in an easy and deep way of things we, as adults, tend to forget

Saying that, this book 'Memento Monstrum' by Jochen Til is far away the best thing I have read for children. A big thank to #netgalley for the ACR of it because I'm totally in love. Not only it has WONDERFUL illustrations by Wiebke Rauers (really, I'm madly in love with her artwork, it is perfect!) but the stories inside it are really moving
It gives us some memories from an old Count Dracula that talk about love, friendship, loyalty, respect and identity. Interesting concepts, fundamental things to teach to little ones and to remind as adults. All the stories are totally perfect and portraits in a cute way these important things

From the hand of Dracula, a wolfman, an enormous tarantula and some other beloved monsters, we can read such touching stories and have a beautiful time. So, if you have kids please buy this for them and if you are like me and enjoy this kind of spooky things, well you know what to do!
(The book is going to be out in October 5th)

I was immediately 100% in love with this cute little book as soon as I took one glimpse of the illustrations. They are just the right mix of adorable and slightly sinister. This was such a great idea, and very well executed!

From the awesome illustrations to the monster menagerie, this was a delightful book. The formatting errors in the ARC did nothing to detract from the absolute charm of this story. The reader meets some familiar creepy characters, who have some subtle life lessons to impart. Such fun!

A fun and quirky memoir from Count Dracula! Filled with beautiful artwork and illustrations, this fun story features so many monsters and fun! A must read! A fun time and perfect for anyone who enjoys a fun monster read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Arctis Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*