This is a take-off of the Buffy Summers story during the TV series, but forgets there was movie (as many fans do). Most of Sunnydale is there (Willow, Xander, Giles, Buffy’s mom) but has Buffy as an 8-year-old girl, just coming into her knowledge she is a slayer, instead of the teen she is during the series.
Actually, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Picture Book starts off with Buffy “now” doing what she does best (slaying vampires) and then flashes back to being eight and the slumber party that started it all. The illustrations of Kim Smith are funny and colorful and very modern. The fan will recognize the monsters in the closet (even the “good” monsters. Hello James C. Leary, I mean Clem!). The story and illustrations play homage to the original but make it a new story. A fan of the series can add this to their collection, but it is also just a story about a girl who is afraid of the dark and the monster (or monsters) that scratch about in her closet.
Buffy is part of a series. Previously there was The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird. This book was more fun for me as I had not watched a lot of X-Files so I was able to step back and enjoy watching the kids have an adventure. I had no real memories of the show or pre-conceived notions how “things should be.” Having watched most of the Buffy series, this diversion from the series is a little off-putting.
However, if you are not a fan of Buffy (due September) or X-Files, you could try her E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; Back to the Future or the holiday Home Alone. In October she will be coming out with Builder Brothers: Big Plans (about Drew and Jonathan Scott).
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