Book Title: The Ink Drinker
Author(s): Éric Sanvoisin
Illustrator: Martin Matje
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright Date: 1998
Genre: Easy Reader - Mystery
Brief Annotation:
A bookstore owner’s son can’t think of anything duller than books. Reading actually causes him agony. When the boy is asked to look after the store for a minute, he doesn’t believe his eyes when he sees a creepy customer take out a straw and begin sucking the ink right out from the book. When he follows this shady character to his abode (a tomb in a cemetery), the man tells the boy that he is a vampire and that he had to give up drinking blood because it gave him a bad liver, but no matter, because books hit the spot. Of course, the boy was surprised to wake up the next day unsure whether or not he actually just met a vampire. But as he observes his wrist more closely, he notices “Draculink” etched in. The books began to call to him, “Come, come browse through us!” He promptly began drinking down the books, but he wasn’t just drinking the ink. He was also experiencing all of the adventures he gulped down. All of the sudden, he was fighting for his life against the notorious pirate, Captain Flint! Pretty cool stuff. “I had become an ink drinker. And for the first time in my life, I relished being the son of a bookstore owner.” This book is the first in Savoisin’s Ink Drinker series.
Your Rating (1-5) and why:
5 – I enjoy the boy’s character. He’s stubborn and adventurous. I also loved the fact that he
was living all the stories he drank down. It’s a humorous mystery and a really easy read with great illustrations.
Readers who will like this book:
Stubborn readers and anyone who likes a comedy about vampires.
Question to ask about this book before a read aloud:
How many of you know what vampires drink? What if it didn’t drink blood? What if it drank ink? Why would it do that?
1. Interest Level (age): 8
2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 3.4
There are a lot of reasons to love this book. First of all, I've never heard of it, and I"m rather chagrined to say that! It sounds like a story that's right up my alley, on a personal and professional level (I'm a bit obsessed w/ vampires at the moment--reading a book called A Discovery of WItches--have you heard of it?). Thanks for the detailed summary that enticed me to add the book to my cart on Amazon. I see connections to Inkheart (have you read any of that series? It's about reading yourself into a book) and The Phantom Tollbooth. Books about books are always fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of A Discovery of the Witches - but if you put it in the same category as Ink Drinker and Phantom Tollbooth, then I definitely want to check it out!
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