This series is more advanced than the Who Was series, making it a good choice for middle grade kids who are required to read a biography. I wouldn't say this is the best of the series, mainly because Vlad lived during the 1400s in eastern Europe and that's not a region or time period that most kids know much about. I'm an adult and I know virtually nothing about the history of eastern Europe. Vlad lived in the region that is Romania today.

The draw of this series is that all of the historical figures were wicked. Vlad's last name was Dracula and he was born in Transylvania, but he was not a vampire. He was however bloodthirsty in a metaphorical sense. He was famous for killing thousands of people by impaling them and putting their dead, impaled bodies on display. He is a historical figure in Romania and there are stone statues commemorating him today.

His history is the same as all rulers from the past. Conquest and defend. He was constantly captured, then freed. He made alliances, then broke them. Friends became foes. Foes became friends. The throne was captured. The throne was lost. He spent his entire life caught between two enemy empires. The Roman empire to the west and the Ottoman empire to the east. They were always wheeling and dealing, promising to help Vlad get back on the throne. Just a bunch of mean, self-interested warmongers.

I recommend this series, but this one probably won't hold kid's interest. This one's for the history buffs. The one that all kids will get into is the one about Hitler. ( )

This is a great and simple intro to Dracula, especially if your kid is just getting into monsters or history. I am a little disappointed in the lack of detail in a few places, even with my understanding that this book is geared towards a younger audience. All in all I'd still have this be a "pick". ( )

_Vlad the Impaler_ is a biography of the real Count Dracula. This book tells the horrifying yet interesting story of Vlad's life. Vlad lives in a small city, and the city keeps getting attacked by the Turks. Vlad betrays his friends and tries to make it so only he will survive. He gets captured by the Turks many times, but then he gets released. He killed many people so he could survive and have power.

I liked this book because it is interesting to read a scary but true story about a person in the past. I thought it was cool that Vlad had his own castle for a graveyard when he died. I would recommend this book to people who want to read about gruesome characters from the past. ( )

Pages: 125
Reading Level: 4.4

This book told the story of one of the most vicious tyrants ever to live. The book gave a vivid account of Vlad's life, birth to ironic death. I think students will be interested to learn about what he did, especially about the impaling parts. However there are certain parts that might be difficult or boring for some students.

I have learned that these little books are very handy if you don't know anything about the person that you are reading about. It gives a very brief history of who the person is and what they did throughout their life. For example, Vlad's father gave him away while he was young in order to avoid prison himself. These types of treacheries between blood is common in Vlad's family. The person that took Vlad's place as ruler of his territory was his own brother. The information upon the wars and struggles has no emotion in it at all, but it is not a narrative, so it's not expected. If you are looking for something to give you more information than you already knew about Vlad (from documentaries, or other reading) then you want to find something else. If you are a beginner and want to know the basics, this is perfect. ( )